Pieces of a Hero (reupload)
by PorcelainHeart12
Summary: After accidentally killing Tri-Klops, He-man journeys to Snake Mountain for atonement. 4 years later, the Masters need him back. Will He-man and his wife accept? What about their strained relationship?
1. Sympathy for the Dead

My first ever story on this site! I do not own He-Man or any of the characters in this story (Except Helen and Christina)

"_This is the life we chose, the life we lead, and there is only one guarantee- none of us will see heaven"-The Road To Perdition_

He-man knew what it felt like to kill a man.

Last night, he'd had the dream again. He remembered everything about that day. The cool steel of his blade, the gentle breeze and birdsong, the way the dust had swirled in golden clouds, before it settled between him and Skeletor. Just another battle, he'd thought. Just another battle, get it over with, be Adam again. A list in his mind, like one you might make of the day's activities.

It had just been the one blast of power from Skeletor's Havoc staff. He-man had angled his sword quickly, to deflect it. It had hit Tri-klops squarely in the chest. The tech had been knocked off his feet, and into Grayskull's abyss.

After that, there were only flashes in He-man's mind. Whirling round like butterflies, spinning till he felt dizzy. Someone had called "Tri-klops!", but whether it was a Master, or an evil minion, he didn't know. Tri-klop's comrades, though they'd never liked the scientist in life, were running towards the edge of the abyss, the battle forgotten. Even He-man's friends stood in stunned silence. For once, Skeletor didn't react; he just stood by the cliff's edge, his face covered by his dark hood. He-man remembered falling to his knees; he had never understood why guilt and grief felt like nausea. The horrific reality of what had happened sinking in slowly and unmercifully.

He had killed a man. An evil man, but a human none the less. A person with needs, and desires and likes and fears. Yes, fears, had this been one of them? Had Tri-klops considered that he might die on the battlefield, or did he think he would live a charmed life at the hands of the merciful Masters?

He-man could never remember what happened next, no matter how many times Teela told him, with her flat voice and unreadable eyes, that the Masters had driven off Skeletor and his shocked minions, and quietly brought He-man home. He knew Teela didn't blame him, she'd said it herself. It was Skeletor's fault, and an accident waiting to happen, but there was something in her tone that He-man couldn't read. Maybe she was thinking about a day in the future, a day when blood might be on her hands? How would it weigh on her? Everyone had said it was Skeletor's fault, but He-man disagreed. Skeletor had aimed for He-man, not Tri-klops, and He-man hadn't looked where he'd aimed. It was as simple as that.

Yes, He-man knew what it felt like to kill a man, but Prince Adam didn't. He-man had stayed He-man for three weeks now. He knew he could be Adam, but he was also someone else. If he couldn't live with blood on his hands, what made him think a sixteen year old child could?

But now, he thought, turning over the power sword in his hands… …there was only one thing for it. That was why he was here, in Grayskull's ornate throne room. Facing the only woman in the world who could help him.

"He-man" the Sorceress was saying to him, her face filled with quiet pity "You ask a great deal of me…"

"There's no other way." To his own ears, he sounded harsh "I need to atone for what I've done. I need to leave the Eternian palace. I couldn't do that knowing my parents, and Teela were sitting there thinking that Adam had run away. So, I told them the truth; that I and Prince Adam were one and the same. They weren't that shocked actually; there'd been speculations and gossip about it for some time. But they wouldn't let me leave the palace quietly, so I need them to know that Adam's gone for good."

She reflected for a moment "If I make you He-man permanently, it is irreversible. You can never be Prince Adam again, no matter how much you want to."

He was silent for a minute, before simply replying "I know."

When she looked at him again, with nothing but questions in her great, green eyes, he knew she deserved more explanation, but it was so hard to put in words.

"You see…" he began "I don't think the part of me that's Adam could live with this guilt. I want to go and atone for what I've done. I can't do that knowing that if I lose too much power, I'll turn back into a frightened sixteen year old boy. It wasn't Adam's fault, it was mine. I should be the only one who has to live with it." He didn't tell her what he'd told his parents and Teela that morning, that he feared that the part of him that was Adam was already gone, swept away in maturity and grief.

She watched him, unmoving. He-man had always considered the Sorceress a friend, but he'd always felt that there was something unnerving about those often unblinking green eyes. The cool tone of voice. But now she simply nodded.

"Very well, He-man. If you want it that badly, and you feel it's the only way, then so be it."

He-man was surprised, he'd expected more resistance. Maybe she was unsure of him now, maybe she thought he was dangerous. But she would do this last thing for him, within the cold stone walls of Castle Grayskull. Then, he would go to Snake Mountain, to see Skeletor, to atone for what he'd done.

* * *

Somewhere in Snake Mountain, Evil-Lyn was thinking, like He-man, about the deceased Tri-klops. It was true, she reflected, as she stretched out on her luxurious bed, she'd never liked the man, but it was strangely unbearable to think that she's spoken to him only yesterday, heard his latest plans and new inventions. Now, she never would again.

She'd always maintained, in her long years here, that she disliked her fellow minions. But she had walked past Tri-Klop's lab earlier (the doors were always open, even when he was alive), and the sight of the lab being empty, his shiny machines waiting to be finished, had suddenly hit her. It wasn't that she'd even liked him, but she was so used to his presence. He left a kind of emptiness, a Tri-klopsless place, she mused. That was what Snake Mountain was, and would always be now. Everything suddenly felt so temporary. It would all crumble into dust.

So tonight, she'd decided, glancing at the decanter of wine on the dressing table beside her, tonight, she would have a drink for Tri-klops. Tears would not have been welcomed by him, and she didn't like him enough to cry. She didn't feel she liked him enough to get angry either, it was a mere accident. Yes, there would be no silly emotions, but a drink. That would be fitting.

She caught sight of her reflection in the large mirror across the room. She approached it, bringing a glass of wine with her. She remembered Tri-klops had once mentioned that she was beautiful. It was not a compliment, oh no, he had no care for beauty. Ever the scientist, he simply stated it for the fact it was. One of his everyday observations. Up is up, down is down, and Evil-Lyn is beautiful. Fairytale-looks, skin, and hair as white as snow, lips as red as blood, and those dark, purple eyes.

Up is up and down is down, and Evil-Lyn is beautiful.

She wondered for the briefest moment, what it would have been like to kiss Tri-klops, to be in love with Tri-klops. She wondered if anyone had ever been in love with Tri-klops? But try as she might to imagine the grim-faced tech professing his undying love for someone, she just couldn't. Instead, she began to giggle inappropriately at the thought. Oh, poor Tri-klops, she felt a little bad for laughing, but she was sure he wouldn't have minded. Then suddenly,-

-"EVERYONE TO THE THRONE ROOM, HE-MAN IS APPROACHING SNAKE MOUNTAIN ALONE!"

Skeletor's angry voice broke through the rocky walls, shattering the unhappy peace that had settled there over the last few weeks.

"He-man?" Evil-Lyn wondered aloud, now, what was he doing there?

She left her room and wandered down the corridor to join the others. She took extra care not to look through the open door of the lab as she passed it. It was still too unusual, all of this.


	2. Speaking with the Enemy

Evil-Lyn had seen a lot of broken men in her life. There was a time when there had been a constant stream of them into Snake Mountain. They seemed to pour in through the very walls. Petty thieves who'd lost their families, soldiers who'd lost their dignity in some nameless war. They came to see Skeletor, asking for work usually. He nearly always said no.

Evil-Lyn looked at golden-haired He-man, kneeling before her Master, and knew he'd become one of those broken men. Was this what guilt did to good people? Evil-Lyn decided she couldn't understand, because it wasn't in her to do so.

"Ah, He-man," Skeletor was saying "Are you here for battle? Or did you just come to dispatch some more of my minions?"

Evil-Lyn flinched at the unwelcome thought of death. He-man lifted his eyes to meet Skeletor's face, or what was left of it.

"I've come to atone for my sins-for Tri-klops's death." The warrior spoke gravely. "I offer myself to you."

Evil-Lyn's jaw dropped. Was he serious? He was really going to give himself up to his mortal enemy, without a fight? But one look at He-man told her, all the fight in him was gone.

Skeletor considered for a moment "He-man? In my dungeons? What an unexpected _honour_." He started to chuckle darkly, before continuing, more to himself than to anyone else,

"Do I imprison him? Wound him? Kill him? Perhaps all three. Hmmm, this is going to take some deliberation."

He turned to his men. "Lock him up!" he ordered firmly "But don't harm him too much-that's my job!". He chuckled again before turning to Evil-Lyn.

"Evil-Lyn, I have a special job for you- you are to bring He-man food and the like. Just make sure he lives till I can decide how best to deal with him."

Evil-Lyn groaned inwardly. Babysitting a once heroic warrior was not what she had signed up for.

She questioned He-man later, when she bought him his dinner. She watched him eating slowly, mechanically, until she finally asked,

"Why are you in Snake Mountain?"

He lifted his blue eyes to meet her widely open purple ones. There was no accusation or irritation in her tone or face, she was merely curious.

"You know the answer to that. I'm in Snake Mountain because I killed a man." Came the flat response.

She turned her head away, a smirk on her lips. "Unsurprisingly, that's not the first time I've heard that sentence."

He-man suddenly realised that she wasn't taking his answer as seriously as she should have. She sat there smirking at him, as if this were all a game, "Don't you hate me?" he asked with a note of exasperation in his voice "Shouldn't you want to avenge Tri-klops?"

She shook her head at him slowly, confused "Why would I want to do that?" she asked.

"Because your comrade is dead, don't you care?" He-man had thought all the evil minions would be desperate for revenge. Evil-Lyn was still shaking her head slowly.

"Oh, He-man, you've got it all wrong. Certainly I've noticed that there is a slightly different air in Snake Mountain now that Tri-klops isn't here. But 'care'? This isn't the Eternian Palace. We are not all friends here, or 'like one big family'. We are not all here for one unique purpose, like fighting evil. We're all here for our own aims, and they just happen to overlap…"

He-man watched her for a moment, then turned the tables by shooting a question at her,

"And you, Evil-Lyn, what is your aim? Why are you here?" A few strands of his golden hair fell into his eyes, but he did not brush it away, he held the witch's unreadable gaze. Evil-Lyn did not like personal questions.

"Perhaps I'll tell you that another day." She smirked, and as quickly as she'd entered his cell, she left.

He-man would not desist. The very next morning when Evil-Lyn brought him his breakfast, still looking sleepy. He-man asked "Is today the day?"

"What day?" was the confused response.

"When you tell me why you decided to serve Skeletor."

"I never decided to serve Skeletor. _I_ decided to serve _Keldor_, Skeletor was just an unforeseen _bonus_ later on."

Something in Evil-Lyn's tone when she'd said the word 'bonus', made He-man ask "Don't you like your master? You've worked with him for years?"

Evil-Lyn pondered for a moment, before settling on what she felt was an appropriate response, "Do not mistake my comment for any disloyalty. Skeletor is not an easy man to like. Keldor was just as evil and ruthless, but he laughed with us, drank with us. He was always our leader, but one of us as well. There is none of that with Skeletor. He's remote, and separate."

"And you serve him because… …you want power, I suppose? Is that what it is?"

Evil-Lyn smiled again, that smirk "Of course. Isn't that always _what it is_?"

He-man observed the woman standing before him, as he spoke in a low tone.

"Ah, but if you had all that power, what would you do with it?"

"Have everyone serve me of course." Was her reply "I'd never have to follow behind anyone ever again" She unconsciously tilted her face upwards, towards the direction of the throne room. As she spoke, there was something almost unguarded about her for a brief second.

"You could win people with kindness, you know."

Suddenly, she was back to her old self "Look where your kindness landed you…"

He-man gave a low growl, which was strangely reminiscent of something Skeletor would do.

"Watch that temper." Evil-Lyn taunted, "It could get you in trouble."

Once again, she vanished before his very eyes. She was a strange one, He-man reflected. In a rare unguarded moment, perhaps he could understand her, and why she was the way she was, but she would never let anyone get that close.


	3. Hopeless Places

For the next few days, they continued in the same vein. He-man's mood swung from vastly depressed and barely able to utter more than a few sentences, to almost chatty. Evil-Lyn was not fooled; she knew his talkative moments were merely a coping mechanism. The moments when he spoke with her, they were the moments when he didn't have to think about Tri-Klops, about the look that had been on his face when he tumbled over the cliff.

Meanwhile, Skeletor raged, unable to decide what to do for the best. _Or the worst, _reflected Evil-Lyn. He knew he should kill He-man, he dearly wanted to. Yet Skeletor could not shake the idea that if he could somehow get He-man to join the side of evil, he would have the greatest warrior Eternia had ever known on his side.

It was futile, of course. He-man would never willingly serve the dark side. Skeletor, however, brooded on this idea, and wondered if there was some way that He-man could be made into an unfeeling, blindly-serving robot. Evil-Lyn would watch her master in the library of Snake Mountain, his back hunched as he poured over ancient texts. He would search for hours for the smallest snippet of information about mind control and similar subjects.

Then, Skeletor was called away, on what Evil-Lyn referred to as 'diplomatic business'. He-man however, was the one who would remember the day Skeletor left, he could never forget, for it was the first night he dreamt of Tri-Klops.

He-man didn't know he was dreaming at first. He'd remained in his current location. He was simply in his cell, unaware that his earthly body was asleep, then, he noticed Tri-Klops sitting nearby. The tech was wearing his battle armour, but not his visor, revealing gently-curling black hair and oddly unfocused blue eyes.

"Tri-Klops!" was all He-man could manage.

"He-man" It was a conversational reply, as if they were merely old friends greeting each other. Maybe in a strange way, they almost were.

"I-I thought you were dead?"

Tri-klops smiled, it wasn't unfriendly, yet there was a slight eeriness to it.

"Here is something you won't want to hear. Two things happened. My death, and the fact I'm standing here. Only one of them is truly real."

He-man knew the faint hope he'd felt couldn't be real. "So, you are dead?"

"Most definitely"

He-man cleared his throat, "Then, are you still you? Or are you just in my imagination?"

Tri-klops smiled wistfully "How can you trust my answer, especially if I'm just a figment of your imagination? I could tell you anything you wanted to hear."

He-man was done dancing around what he really wanted to know "Tri-Klops, I have to ask if you forgive me?"

Tri-klops was looking at the ground, and didn't reply. He-man repeated the question with more desperation in his voice. But Tri-klops simply shook his head.

"I can't answer that, He-man"

"Why not?" He-man asked, a mixture of anger, confusion and pleading was evident in his voice.

"There are things that haven't become apparent yet, things that the dead can't talk about. Certain facts you have to find out for yourself. Your role in this story isn't done yet."

"Why can't you just tell me these things?"

"The dead can't just appear and do whatever they want. There are rules to govern our conduct, and how much we can interact with the living. Can you imagine the chaos otherwise? Besides, as I've said before, I could tell you a lot of things, but how do you even know I'm real?"

He-man felt so unsteady facing this creature. Was he a dream? A ghost? A memory? But how could he be having a conversation about the future with someone whose existence ended in the past.

"I'm going to go now, He-man. I will be back, though I don't know when. But you must talk to Evil-Lyn more; she will give you what you need"

"What do I need?" He-man asked, but then his eyes opened, and Tri-Klops, and the waking dream that had contained him, were gone. He-man was alone in his cell once more.

He heard keys jangling, and realised that Evil-Lyn was bringing him food. As soon as she entered the cell, he was on his feet. Just as the witch went to set the tray down, He-man had crossed the cell. He grabbed her shoulders quickly. His grip was tighter than necessary, and those dangerous eyes of hers flashed purple.

"I recognise that you're going through a difficult time right now, but if you don't take your hands off me in three seconds, I will make you sorry." She warned him.

"Lyn! You don't understand- I saw him! I saw Tri-Klops!

Evil-Lyn hadn't expected this, nor had she expected to be grabbed by He-man (who still had a death grip on her shoulders). She also hadn't expected him to shorten her name to 'Lyn'. Any other time, she would have corrected him, by force if necessary, but now her eyes returned to their normal violet colour.

"What do you mean, you saw Tri-Klops?"

He-man's face took on dazed look as he recounted the event "He appeared to me in a dream, Lyn, he appeared to me in a dream! Can you believe it?"

Now the ex-hero was rambling, and seemed delirious, Evil-Lyn noted. Did he have a fever perhaps? Evil-Lyn automatically reached out to press her hand against his forehead, more out of habit than any act of kindness. But He-man backed up all the same. The expression on his face changed as quick as lightning.

"You think I'm ill or lying" he said in an accusatory tone, meeting her eyes directly. She sighed.

"He-man, I don't think you're lying…" the rest of the sentence "_I think you're insane"_, hung in the air, Evil-Lyn decided that now wasn't the right time for it. He-man's eyes suddenly took on a strange light.

"There's more to what I saw. Tri-klops said you would give me something I needed. Are you keeping something from me, Evil-Lyn?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Are you hiding something?" He seemed almost angry now. Evil-Lyn had never known a man to go through so many moods in such a short space of time. He seemed to have forgotten that _she _was the evil one; _she_ was the one in power, not the other way round. Evil-Lyn began to see red.

"I will _not_ be spoken to like this" she declared coolly, and with that, she shot a bolt of her magic into the unsuspecting He-man, slamming him against a wall in the process. He-man crumpled to the floor, his moment of anger, of letting loose, was over. The fight in him was gone once again.

"When I return with your supper, I expect an apology. You're lucky I didn't kill you." That was all the witch had to say, and with that, she brushed herself off and left the cell.

He-man was at a loss, and knew he'd acted wrongly in the heat of his desperation for answers. Did she know something? Did he really speak to Tri-Klops? Or was his mind just playing tricks on him? Trying to give him hope in a hopeless place.


	4. Lyn

Evil-Lyn got her apology exactly 6 hours later, when she went to visit He-man with his dinner. She greeted him with frosty silence, as she'd been planning to for the past hour and a half. However, he cut through her chilly demeanour with a sincere "I'm sorry", followed by "I acted wrongly." Evil-Lyn was surprised to find she felt a certain degree of pleasure at hearing He-man say these words to her.

"I accept your apology". She gave him a curt nod, but He-man asked her a question that threw her off track.

"Did Tri-Klops have any family?"

Evil-Lyn sighed at He-man's question. "Why do you want to know, has he been appearing to you in visions again?"

He-man gritted his teeth at her tone, but reminded himself not to overreact. His emotions, he knew, were out of control at the moment. He couldn't afford to lose Evil-Lyn, who seemed to be his only ally in Snake Mountain. Perhaps 'ally' was too strong a word, he reflected, but he could speak to her, and sometimes she would concede to be honest with him. He was actually beginning to warm a little to her company. However, he knew this was probably due to the fact he was friendless, any company seemed perhaps better than none.

"I'm just interested" was the reason he finally settled on. Luckily for He-man, today was one of the days when Evil-Lyn conceded to be honest with him. Her eyes met with his, and she said;

"He had a mother and a father, obviously. I don't know much about them. I think they're just poor villagers in some farm town, and he hardly ever saw them. But I do know that he had a sister who was quite a lot younger than him."

"A sister?"

"She'd be about fourteen, and her name is Lana. He mentioned her once or twice. Though given the age gap, I don't think there was any real closeness there."

"Do they know what happened?" He-man asked. A slight incline of the witch's head told him that they certainly knew Tri-klops had died.

"They don't hate you" she said mechanically, knowing it was what he wanted to hear, but bored of this constant topic at the same time "They knew what Tri-klops was risking when he began work here. They're just surprised it didn't happen sooner."

He-man didn't react for a moment, then, he said "So, Tri-klops wasn't married? Had no children?"

Evil-Lyn raised her eyebrows and smirked mockingly "Well, no wife. Tri-Klops was just about married to his machines. As for children, it's hard to say. When someone travels as much as Tri-klops, I suppose they could have got attached to a woman or two along the way. But, put it this way, he didn't have any children as far as he knew."

He-man nodded slowly, digesting the information. He was starting to become curious about the witch as well.

"What about you?" he asked "Are you married? Any children?"

"Are you serious?" she scoffed in return.

"Well, why not?"

"Being completely evil doesn't go hand in hand with happy families." She simply stated.

"Lyn-you're not completely evil." He-man truly believed this. He'd seen her laugh, and smile. She was so… …human. That fleeting essence of life she had, something her cold, dead comrade no longer possessed.

"Yes, I rather think I am" she replied, but He-man stubbornly shook his head.

"I won't believe that. I can't believe that." He-man insisted. "There's still a chance for you to-"

She cut him off by raising her hand "He-man, this has gone far enough. I know what you're doing"

"You do?" even He-man didn't know fully what he was doing.

"You're trying to see something in me that isn't there. Something _good."_ She said the word as if it was distasteful to her, but she didn't want to let He-man go on deluding himself into thinking that an evil lifestyle was just something she was pursuing for lack of better options. "I'm not Tri-klops." She added.

"What does that have to do with anything?" he asked, frustration creeping into his tone.

"Everything." She replied "You couldn't save Tri-klops, so you're trying to save me. From this, from all of this." She gestured around the crimson walls of Snake Mountain.

"That's not…" began He-man, but a soon as he started, he knew she was right, and the words that had formed so readily on his lips floated away, as fleeting as butterflies. He looked at her, her crossed arms, the hard expression on her face, and at last, he saw her. Evil-Lyn, the dark witch. Not some trapped girl, waiting to be saved, not some misguided, yet still friendly woman. He saw her short, snowy hair, her tired yet still curious violet eyes that had seen so much evil in their time, her proud features that put her on the same level as any queen. He finally understood her connection to this place. She was as much a creature of Snake Mountain as she was of her native land. She was comfortable here. He understood that she had made her choice to be evil, and was now at peace with it.

A flood of emotions and sorrow came to He-man, as he saw all of the evil minion's faces, including that of the deceased Tri-klops, in his mind. Each of them choosing this path, making sacrifices, small and large, for their choice, he couldn't save any of them. He sunk to his knees in absolute despair and realisation that any chance of redemption was hopeless; it had to be death for him, or a lifetime in this cell, nothing else.

When He-man finally gathered his senses, Evil-Lyn was gone. She did that a lot.

* * *

In Snake Mountains' kitchen, Evil-Lyn sat, thinking of her exchange with He-man, her hands were clasped around a cup of hot tea. He-man had seemed so much better, and then he'd just collapsed to his knees. Trapjaw was in the far corner, watching her.

"Your hands are trembling" he said. There was a moment of silence, and when the witch didn't reply, the blue warrior shook his head.

"You're gettin' too attached" was all he added.

Evil-Lyn looked up blankly; genuinely unsure of what he was talking about. "What?"

"You're gettin' too attached-to He-man. I see how talkin' with him changes your moods"

The witch shook her head fiercely. He was wrong of course, but if he mentioned this idea to Skeletor, he could make trouble for her.

"I ain't sayin' you're gonna marry him or something" Trapjaw explained "Just that you're getting' used to him bein' here, and you shouldn't, coz we all know Skeletor's gonna do away with him sooner or later. You don't wanna go gettin' attached to a dead man."

Evil-Lyn fixed her gaze on the table, but she narrowed her eyes a little and spoke slowly, "He's not dead yet…"

"But he will be soon enough"

In a rare moment of weakness, Evil-Lyn put her face in her hands for a split second, and found herself wishing that Skeletor could get He-man to join the side of darkness. He seemed, in his moments of clarity, to have a lot to offer, but she knew Trapjaw was right, He-man wouldn't join the side of darkness, and He-man was going to die. That was all there was to it.

"I'll take him his breakfast tomorrow" Trapjaw was saying. Evil-Lyn didn't reply, what was the point?

* * *

He-man was surprised the next morning, to see Trapjaw walking into his cell in Evil-Lyn's place, carrying a tray of food. He-man didn't know what the food was. It didn't taste bad, but day after day, the meals started to blend into one.

"Where's Evil-Lyn, is she sick?" he asked.

"No." was all Trapjaw offered.

"Then why are you here?"

"Well," Trapjaw said "Apparently you've been annoyin' her with your mood swings and strange questions." It was a bit of a stretch of the truth, but it was better this way. He-man didn't need to know how his newfound complexity was getting to the witch. Otherwise, he could mistake her intrigue for something else…

"I didn't ask any strange questions!" He-man insisted. Trapjaw rolled his eyes in response.

"Apparently you was asking her personal questions, about whether she's married or not. Don't bother askin' me. You ain't my type."

"I just wanted to know if she had family" He-man explained. "Do you know anything about her mother and father?"

"Only what I've gathered over the years"

"And what's that?" He-man stared at Trapjaw, intrigued.

"Why should I tell you?" Trapjaw asked, quite reasonably.

He-man shrugged, and the inquisitive light in his eyes turned dull and flat once again "Well, if I'm going to die anyway…"

Trapjaw, feeling a sudden surge of self importance at possessing the information He-man needed, sat down on a nearby rock.

"Well, this is just between me an' you, mind. I know her mother died when she was a baby. Poor woman was just a kid herself, sixteen when she married, eighteen when she had Lyn an' died, hardly got to enjoy life. "

He-man nodded, he didn't want to utter a word in case something he said disrupted Trapjaw from his narrative.

"From what I understand, Lyn's dad was a _wreck. _Not mean to her or nothin', but up and down moods all the time, coz' of losing his wife. He couldn't work coz he was a recluse or somethin', so Lyn had to basically 'beg, borrow and steal' so she and her father could survive. She was best at stealing, but one day, she got caught stealing from a market stall."

He-man nodded again solemnly, eyes on the red rocks that made up the floor. He wondered how many times Evil-Lyn's pointed boots had walked over this floor, what other prisoners had she spoken to here?

"The stall owner dragged her back home, and told her father everything about her stealing and the like. Lyn's father realised what he'd put her through, I reckon he had some kinda 'breakdown' over it, coz it was at that point that Lyn decided to run away, she was seventeen."

"_So young," _He-man thought, _"The same age as Adam."_

"She met us an' Keldor, and joined our ranks. Some say she an' Keldor were friends, or even lovers, I dunno, and I don't care. Either way, she's been here ever since."

He-man assumed the tale was concluded, but then, Trapjaw said something that made him freeze where he was standing.

"I reckon Skeletor will give Lyn her marching orders soon though…" Trapjaw added this in an offhand casual way, He-man's jaw dropped.

"What? Skeletor's going to get rid of Evil-Lyn?" his voice rose a little.

"Well… …we dunno for sure, but it's a rumour." Trapjaw smirked, smug at his own importance.

"Why would Skeletor get rid of his most powerful minion?" He-man asked, bewildered.

"Skeletor's always favoured power, but in his old age, he's starting to question our loyalty. Lyn's good, but she's unpredictable. One minute she's on your side, next she's stabbin' you in the back. He's knows she betrayed him once, and he reckon she maybe betrayed him again, but he can't prove it. It's no good tryin' to take over Grayskull with someone who might be tryin' to overthrow you at any moment." Trapjaw explained.

He-man tried to digest this "So, he's just going to get rid of her?"

"I dunno, maybe. It's what we all reckon. There's hundreds of mages who want her job. Maybe not as powerful as her, but Skeletor could always hire more than one of them…"

Trapjaw then surveyed He-man's breakfast. "You'd better eat that, it's gettin' cold" he simply said, and with that, he walked from the cell, his arm clanking noisily as he went.

He-man, still in disbelief, moved towards the tray. What did someone like Evil-Lyn have without Snake Mountain? She'd be jobless, and homeless, maybe even penniless. Who would help someone like that, especially when they were evil? The Masters would take her in, but she'd be a prisoner, she'd be in jail for the rest of her life.

He-man had always thought that's what she deserved. Now he was in a cell himself, on the other side of the bars, he wasn't so sure.

Suddenly, a slight shuffling noise made He-man look up. It was Evil-Lyn, barely visible; she was standing cloaked partially in the shadows of his cell. He hadn't even noticed her presence, but he could tell from the stricken look on her face, which she was trying to mask, that she'd heard every word of his conversation with Trapjaw.


	5. Hasty Decisions

_I tried to make this a fast-paced chapter. I want everything to happen quickly at this point. x_

* * *

Evil-Lyn was stunned into silence. It was the first time that He-man had ever felt he had the upper hand with her. He had her, with no biting remarks, no quick wit, nothing. She was going to be made to leave, to lose everything. He knew the look of devastation on her face, it was the one he'd constantly seen in the mirror after Tri-klops' death, familiar as an old friend, or an old enemy.

"Lyn…" He-man trailed off, because he knew that sometimes, there were no words.

First came the denial, Evil-Lyn shook her head and said "Skeletor wouldn't just get rid of me". Then she reconsidered and got angry "How could he even think of such a thing, after all I've done for him!" Then a few minutes later, grief, "What am I going to do?" He-man watched the rainbow of her emotions unfolding before his very eyes. He walked over to her, and gently placed his large hands on her shoulders. This time, she did not order him to remove them; she simply looked up at him in disbelief.

"I have given my life to Skeletor" she said, with the tone of someone who'd made a grave mistake and now was beginning to face the consequences "The good times, and the bad. I gave him my life" she repeated simply. The she met He-man's brilliant ocean blue eyes with her violet ones. "Do you know what it feels like to give your life to someone?" she asked.

He-man shook his head; he had not been with the Masters for that long. He had never seen Evil-Lyn like this, all the fight had gone out of her. She probably didn't usually show so much emotion around other people, but He-man didn't count, did he? He was practically a ghost already.

"You should leave Snake Mountain right away" He-man told her sternly "If Skeletor's planning on being rid of you, you're not safe here."

"But where would I go?" she twisted her hands before her, and looked for the first time, well and truly lost, even though she was in a place that was so familiar. Here she was, He-man thought, another of Evil-Lyn's many faces, a woman standing at the brink, an old life about to end, a new one to begin.

"You could seek work?" he suggested.

"No" she replied "No-one would take me on for work. Imagine my reputation, one of the most evil people on Eternia."

"You could go back and live with your father"

"That's even worse than the first idea. It's true, isn't it, He-man? I'm going to end up on the streets."

"You could get married…" He'd said it, the elephant in the room- a single, eligible man, telling a single, eligible woman that she could get married. So controversial, because no-one ever knew if it was supposed to be a statement, or a hint, Evil-Lyn didn't know either. Evil-Lyn had never had a single man mention marriage to her before, which is probably why she had a vague, fleeting image of herself kissing He-man at the end of a long, red-carpeted aisle. Marriage was not a wholly bad idea, if she chose right; she could live comfortably perhaps, which was better than the streets. _Anything_ was better than the streets, she thought, except perhaps, marriage to Beastman.

"To whom could I get married?" she asked aloud. Would He-man pretend that he hadn't heard? That he hadn't made the suggestion? "Who would want to marry an evil witch?"

"There must be someone you have in your life? A male friend? A distant relative? Someone who could see the good in you, and perhaps think that you are the women for him?"

"He-man, you're a dreamer. You are the only one who has ever seen anything remotely _good _in me"

It was out of his mouth before he could stop himself "Then maybe you should marry me."

There was silence on both sides for a matter of moments. Then, Lyn with wide eyes said "Can you really mean it?"

He-man thought for a moment. Images flashed inside his mind; Tri-Klops falling over the cliff, himself coming to Snake Mountain and being locked in this cell, Evil-Lyn talking to him, Evil-Lyn laughing genuinely with a light in her eyes, Tri-Klops telling him that his role in this story wasn't done yet-to look to Lyn, Evil-Lyn telling him he couldn't rescue her. But maybe, he could.

_An old life ends, and a new one begins. _He _could _help her; give her a life that Skeletor might have taken away. He never thought he would get married, he thought he would die here, but maybe they could both start again, and this would be his redemption.

His fixed his gaze on Evil-Lyn, there was something he'd never seen in her expression. Was it hope?

"I mean it" he said, stoically.

When He-man was Adam, he'd often read books on courtly romance, and knightly deeds. He was rescuing Evil-Lyn, and while he didn't love her in that all-consuming, idolised way he'd so often read about, he certainly didn't want her to live on the streets, or be imprisoned by the Masters. Was that not a sign of some kind of love? He wondered, or at least a kind of growing respect or friendship? Many marriages started from much less.

Evil-Lyn gave him a look he couldn't read, and He-man half wondered if she might use her magic to throw him against a wall, or laugh at him, or even throw him a disgusted look, but she did none of these things. Instead, she smiled mysteriously and said "Well, if you are really serious, then you'd better propose to me properly…"

This came as quite a shock to He-man, but, in a way that was reminiscent of a mountain moving, he slowly sunk down onto one knee, and took the witch's hand. Evil-Lyn looked down at their hands. He-man's large, golden hand held her snowy-white, small one with its long, tapering fingers. Something about He-man, and his hulking movements, made Evil-Lyn feel 'delicate'.

"Lyn" he began "I know that you don't love me, but we get along very well, and I feel that we could grow to love each other in time. I have seen a dozen marriages that started with far less. You and I are both broken, and in need of starting again. We should do this together. You and I should marry, and have a new life together."

Evil-Lyn considered for a long moment, her breathing remained steady. He-man was offering the chance at a new life, which seemed better than all the alternatives. She did not love him, but he was very handsome, and she did enjoy his presence. She could see herself living with him, in a cottage leagues away from where they currently stood, he would go and work, and she, she would be content and comfortable. Somewhere where Skeletor would never reach her. Skeletor would be sorry he'd let her go.

Evil-Lyn had always been a little jealous of married women. Now, she could be one. And she would have the most handsome husband on all of Eternia. A smug smile crept across her face at the thought of this. She had long since passed what was considered the 'marriageable age' on Eternia, so she had resigned herself to being alone. Now, she was being proposed to by Eternia's golden boy hero. She thought of how mad with jealously her family (an Aunt and five cousins) would be.

Evil-Lyn had one aunt, a widow who'd been her mother's older sister. Her name was Gweneth, and she had six daughters, all about Lyn's age, all with long black hair, peach skin and dark eyes. They lived in a town in the dark hemisphere leagues away from Snake Mountain. All the daughters were married with children by now, and when they saw Lyn (which was extremely rarely) they never failed to bring up the fact she was unmarried.

She remembered back when she was just five-and-twenty. She had gone to see her Aunt and cousins in their townhouse. This hell included; twenty-four year old Katja showing off her two children, twenty-two year old Amarish showing off her baby daughter, twenty-one year old Melly showing off her pregnant belly. There had also been nineteen year old Glaucis, and seventeen year old Kesta showing off their engagement rings. Even the youngest, sixteen year old Nomi, had a potential suitor. That day, they'd all asked Lyn, in smug tones, why she wasn't married. Afterwards she'd heard them talking, saying they didn't believe she would ever be wed, and that her beauty would soon fade, and how then, she would be in trouble.

That day had been many years ago, and it was the first time Evil-Lyn had ever really though about marriage, not for what it was, but because she wanted to show her cousins and every other woman on Eternia, that she could do better than them, but over time, this thought had faded. Now however, it had erupted like a volcano inside Lyn's mind. Imagine when she told everyone that she was finally getting married, to Eternia's most handsome, strong man. How jealous they would all be, especially now that their own husbands were mostly old, ugly and drunk! She made up her mind to go to her aunt's house with He-man after they escaped, it could be their first resting place, and she would gloat! She would show them all- them and Skeletor.

She didn't know if there would be children. She was not an old woman, but she was not young. For her to have a child was unlikely, perhaps, but not impossible. Still, she would cross that bridge if it ever came up. But in the meantime, what had Skeletor ever done for her? She had given him her life, and he was no closer to getting the Power of Grayskull than Orko the magician was. And now, he dared to think of being rid of her. Why shouldn't she leave? Why shouldn't she be married? And have a cottage? And live comfortably? And gloat to her cousins? She would do it; she decided… …she would have it all.

She looked at He-man, still kneeling on the floor, and nodded calmly "I will marry you, He-man"

He-man raised his eyes. He was to be married; he was to start life over, with Evil-Lyn.

"We can leave tonight" she was saying, and He-man nodded in agreement.

"As soon as possible, I agree"

There was silence for a few moments, and then, He-man did something unexpected. He leaned down, and sealed their deal by kissing Evil-Lyn full on the lips, she found herself responding in kind, her arms reaching up to wrap around his neck. Their first kiss as a 'couple', a soon to be married couple. As they broke apart, Evil-Lyn smiled, but said nothing, because sometimes there were no words.


	6. Wedding Bells and Blues

It turned out to be easy after all. With Skeletor still away, Evil-Lyn waited til' the dead of night, and performed a simple spell to make sure her fellow minions carried on sleeping soundly. By the time she appeared in He-man's cell to release him, she was already packed and ready to go. She told He-man of all the spells she would be using; a spell to transport them to the town where her aunt lived, a spell so no-one could track them, a spell so no-one who even saw them could relay this information to Skeletor.

She was certainly prepared, He-man noted, which forced him to ask the obvious question "Lyn, were you by any chance planning to do a moonlight flit from Snake Mountain regardless of my proposal?"

She smiled at him, endearingly "Not exactly 'planning', but I suppose you would say I was 'prepared', just in case. After that day when he tried to throw me into the Pool of Shadows, I started looking up a few spells to aid me if I were ever in a similar situation. But I didn't seriously think this day would ever come…"

He-man awkwardly put his arm about her shoulders. It didn't feel quite right, but if they were to be married, it was better that they get used to being close, He-man decided. He looked at the cloudy expression on her face, and wondered if she was thinking back on all her years here.

"I'm sorry." He said simply "I'm sorry for all of this"

She turned and looked at his broad muscles and concerned, handsome face. She smiled; "I'm not" was her reply. But He-man wondered how honest she was really being.

The transportation spell worked quickly, and they soon found themselves in the town where Lyn's aunt, Gweneth, lived. It was a relatively large town, with several crimson coloured townhouses sprouting up from the ground, and of course, a large, white temple. The temple was a square building, with two high towers on each side, large open windows, and gold adornments around an open doorway. This was where the people of the town got married; this was where Lyn and He-man would marry tomorrow. A small, quiet ceremony with very few people, just Gweneth and her daughters.

Lyn had been exchanging telepathic messages with her aunt for some hours now. Gweneth knew the pair were coming to visit, and were marrying the next day at noon. It was Gweneth who had visited the Temple Master and asked that the ceremony might take place tomorrow. He had said yes, of course. As the Dark Hemisphere was filled with thieves and cut-throats who might get arrested, or killed at any moment, marriages were arranged quickly. The couple, or a representative would ask for the ceremony to be held, usually the same day, or the next day. The answer was nearly always yes.

As they approached a three-storied townhouse, which Evil-Lyn had identified as being Gweneth's, the front door was flung open, and Aunt Gweneth herself appeared. She was smaller than He-man had expected, with long, greying black hair tied up into a bun. She was dressed in a floor length, blue silk dress. No doubt she had been attractive in her day, He-man thought. But years of having and raising children, and an unexpected widowhood had obviously aged her. There was no mistaking the deep lines around the inquisitive, brown eyes. The woman did not smile or speak, as it was probably a little dangerous on these streets, she simply gestured He-man and Evil-Lyn inside.

* * *

Once they were safely inside the front door, however, she made a great show of saying 'Welcome', and gesturing them to the parlour where they were served tea by one of her many daughters. This daughter, He-man found out from the ensuing conversation, turned out to be Katja, the oldest. Soon she was joined by all of her sisters. The youngest of whom was carrying a large baby on her hip.

All of them looked jealously at He-man, and secretly wished he was theirs. He-man did not even notice, but Evil-Lyn did, and she felt a spark of joy inside her for doing better than them.

"And what will He-man wear at the ceremony tomorrow?" One of the cousins, perhaps Glaucis (He-man could not yet tell them apart) was asking "He cannot get married in that loincloth"

The cousins all giggled. It might have been charming ten or twenty years ago, Evil-Lyn thought, but now they looked too old for such girlish laughter.

"I have prepared He-man some clothes, not just for the ceremony, but for life afterwards" Lyn replied indignantly. This was all news to He-man, who stared at her. Where had she got clothes for him from?

"And what will you wear, my dear niece?"

Evil-Lyn took a sip of her tea "Just my best gown, I suppose"

But Lyn's aunt shook her head "No need to stoop to that level. When my youngest, Nomi was eighteen, she was to be married. She had a wedding dress made, but it looked far too old and mature for her youthful radiance. I made her have a different dress, but I kept the old one." She smiled "It would suit you, Lyn" she added slyly.

If it were any other day, and any other person had implied she was old, Lyn would have destroyed them, but she was used to Gweneth's thinly veiled criticisms. More to the point, she had yet to try on an actual wedding dress that was made for the sole purpose of a ceremony. So, she rose imperiously, and conceded to try it. Gweneth led the witch upstairs, and found the dress, talking the whole time as Evil-Lyn went behind a screen and changed into it.

Lyn finally appeared in the wedding gown, and just as if she'd cast a silence spell, Gweneth stopped talking.

"You look so beautiful" the older woman finally murmured.

Evil-Lyn looked in the mirror, and saw that Gweneth was right. She'd thought that the white dress, combined with her skin and hair, would make her look too pale. Instead, she looked glowing and radiant, as if her skin were formed of actual moonbeams. The dress fell to the floor, and the skirts of it were slim. The sleeves were long, flowing and lacy- as delicate as if they'd been formed of spider's webs. The bodice was heart-shaped, with lacing down the front. There was also a thick, white belt, with clear gemstones. It sat tightly round Lyn's waist, showing off her slim figure. She smiled.

She wondered if her aunt was secretly a little annoyed that the gown looked so good? But Gweneth simply said "And wedding rings?"

"We have none"

Gweneth gasped "How improper is this! You simply must have some rings!" She opened a drawer in a nearby cabinet, and produced a black box. Inside, were two gold wedding bands.

Gweneth looked tearful; she was prone to changeable moods "These belonged to your Uncle Syras and me. When he died, I removed his ring, and my own. I think rings should stay together, even if the couple cannot."

_That's a nice way of saying that she prised the ring from his cold, dead fingers, _Lyn thought, but instead of saying it, she simply asked "Won't your daughters want these?"

"The one time I was thinking of passing these down to one of my daughters, they began arguing over who should get them" Gweneth shook her head "It is better that you take them, and have the kind of happiness I used to have, the kind my daughters' dream of."

Lyn took the rings into her outstretched hand. _Will I ever have that kind of happiness? _She wondered.

The next morning, the morning of the ceremony, He-man stood in his wedding clothes, which seemed to fit quite nicely. He would leave for the temple soon, along with Gweneth, but for now, he surveyed himself. A cream coloured tunic with some small, precious stones set around the collar, embroidered with gold thread. There were matching cream coloured hose that he was wearing underneath. Soft, brown shoes were on his feet. Lyn had done well at providing clothes for him.

_Today, I start a new life, _he thought. _I will do my best to love this witch._

* * *

One hour later, Evil-Lyn climbed into a rickshaw bound for the temple. Even though it was within walking distance, her aunt had said that plodding to your own ceremony was what peasants did. For once, Lyn had agreed with her aunt, so they had settled on a rickshaw, as it was less ostentatious and far more easily available than a carriage. Her Cousin Amarish was beside her in her best blue dress. Lyn's other five cousins, all in their best dresses, had divided themselves between two more rickshaws.

As they approached the temple, Lyn's cousins went in first. She had to be the last. As she entered, she realised that the aisle wasn't red-carpeted, as it had been in her visions. The floor was of an exquisite blue marble. She knew her cousins were there, but she did not look for them, only at the end of her path, where He-man stood. At last she reached him. His wedding clothes looked good. Evil-Lyn had decided that he did not have to know where she'd got the clothes from. They had actually belonged to Tri-Klops, and Lyn had taken them from the dead man's room. Well, he no longer needed them. But something told Lyn that He-man would not appreciate this particular line of reasoning.

The Temple Master talked in his rich voice for some time about the importance of love and devotion. _Or the importance of saving myself from a life on the streets_, Lyn thought. She did not truly pay attention until she was asked to say 'I do'. She said it without a second thought. He-man seemed to consider it more gravely.

The true moment of being married did not hit Evil-Lyn until that gold wedding band was placed around her finger. She could feel the weight of it suddenly, pinning her to He-man forever, tying them together until death. She felt a strange shiver as the Temple Master closed his book. Had she made the right choice?

Of course, it was one thing to say you wanted to be married to someone; it was another to actually spend all your time with them. She had wanted to show off to her cousins, and she had done so, but her cousins would not be in her life a great deal now. It was just her, and He-man, her and her _husband._ The word had an unusual, unfamiliar weight.

Lyn shook her head and told herself she was being ridiculous. She was going to be fine; she had the greatest prize on Eternia in the husband she had won. _Whatever happens now,_ she thought, as she and He-man, hand-in-hand, prepared to exit the temple, _whatever happens now, I am married!_


	7. Reunion

**Four Years Later**

Lyn stared out of her cottage window at the bleak weather, and sighed. Four years had passed since her wedding day. She looked, and felt, vastly the same. However, sometimes when she was alone in her bleakest moments, she couldn't help asking the same question that she'd asked on her wedding day, all those years ago.

_Did I make a mistake? _She'd played the question over to herself so many times, in different formats. She still didn't know the answer. She had married He-Man. She had done something several other Eternian women had done before her- she had married a man she barely knew. Even now, after all this time, he was still a little like a stranger to her.

After they had married, they had taken up residence in a cottage, which had been the summer home of Lyn's mother and Gweneth during their childhood. It was originally going to be given to Nomi, Gweneth's youngest daughter, but she and her ever growing family had shunned it in favour of a sleek townhouse. Lyn loved the cottage for all its rustic charm, though it embarrassed her a little to admit that. She had once been the most evil woman on Eternia, now, she was living in her beloved cottage. It was white, with two floors, a thatched roof and green plants snaking around the wooden front door.

Lyn was glad she loved her home though. After all, she had to spend a good deal of time there. He-man had started working for a local farmer, doing menial tasks, but he'd done so well (given his strength), that he was repeatedly promoted. Now, He-man had his own land, and every day, he took his horse-driven cart there and began work.

Lyn was there to greet him in the evenings, make him dinner, and pretend they were a normal family. They had felt more normal since the baby had arrived. Yes, much to their joint surprise, there had been a child for Evil-Lyn and He-Man after all.

After they had been married a mere few months, and were still getting used to each other, Evil-Lyn had began to feel unwell. She went to a local medic, who told her she was about eight weeks pregnant, and directed her to a local midwife. Lyn was surprised, she hadn't done anything to prevent pregnancy, but she was not a young woman, and she had thought the chance for motherhood would have long since passed her by. He-man was overjoyed by the news, and gave Lyn a long lecture on how they had to be better role models now that they were to be parents. Lyn watched her growing body with certain smugness, feeling the baby kick, and wondering if it was a boy or girl.

It was in about the sixth or seventh month that things started to go wrong. Lyn began to feel weaker and weaker. He-man called in the midwife, who consigned Lyn to constant bed rest. She explained to He-man that, although Lyn was obviously a fierce and powerful woman, that had nothing to do with pregnancy. Lyn was not young, and this was her first child, pregnancy was going to be very difficult for her from here onwards. Lyn accepted her fate, and stayed on bed rest, although pregnancy didn't feel quite as much of a novelty as it had before. Now, she felt drained all the time.

Finally, Lyn gave birth to a child, and, she was a girl. A girl who was very like He-man, with pale, pink skin and golden curls, but Lyn's violet eyes. She was a beautiful, happy child.

"What shall we name her?" He-man had asked, but Lyn, ever secretive, had already chosen her daughter's name.

Helen. It meant 'light', and Lyn liked to say the word, she liked the sound of it; her bright and light daughter. Helen was now three years of age, and she remained He-man and Lyn's only child. She showed no sign of having her father's strength, or mother's magic. However, she could already walk and talk rather well, and was really spectacularly beautiful, with soft golden curls, roses in her cheeks, and those sparkling violet eyes.

Lyn liked to be with her daughter all day. She knew the men of Snake Mountain would laugh and mock her if they could see her now. But all the same, she dreaded to think of how she'd fill her days in two years time, when Helen started to go to the local village school. She dreaded even more the occasional thought of what she would do when Helen eventually left home as a young woman, then Lyn would just be alone with her husband. Would they still be strangers then?

She heard the door open, and He-man's voice seemed to fill the entire cottage. He was home from work; she would try not to think about the future, for now.

* * *

_**Two hours later**_

Teela looked at the cottage before her. Her heart was racing. It had been four long years since she'd seen He-man, and now, she was here, at his home.

At least, she hoped it was his home.

She had been appointed what was probably going to be her favourite task of all time, reuniting He-man with the Masters. Her father had sent her to collect the fallen hero, and the Sorceress had told her that he resided in this cottage. All this was because the Masters needed him back. Their army hadn't been the same since he'd left; they'd managed to survive though, because Skeletor had lost some power too, in the form of his witch. Evil-Lyn had disappeared about four years back, and no-one had ever found her.

The witch had had a lot of enemies though; the Snake Men, Count Marzo and many others that Teela probably didn't even know about. It was generally assumed that she'd been murdered, and they had simply never found her body. Teela had never liked Lyn, but she didn't like to think about such things, so she resolutely pushed it from her mind. Still, even after Lyn's disappearance, every day was a struggle for the Masters. They'd heard rumours about possible, forthcoming attacks from the Snake men and Count Marzo, so, they'd finally decided that they had to try to get He-man back. They were scared of course, who knew what they'd find of their former friend after all this time?

The one thing that worried her was that the Sorceress had given her no information on He-man's post-Masters existence. What had he gone through after leaving? What work did he do? Was he married? Children? There was a time when Teela might have thought that she would begin a relationship with him. Well, now she was twenty, and still on her own. So, maybe, if he was unmarried, they might still have a chance. Taking a deep breath, Teela approached the front door.

She knocked, and then took a nervous step back. The door was opened by a woman, who was holding a little girl on her hip. Teela felt her heart sink as she noticed the gold wedding band the woman was wearing, and how much her pretty, little daughter resembled He-man. He-man had married! He had had a child!

Teela then looked at the woman- He-man's wife. She was really rather strikingly beautiful; short, snowy-white hair, pale skin, exquisite cheekbones, large violet eyes and an hourglass figure. She was dressed in a sleeveless, ankle length gown of bright blue; it was patterned all over with bright, pink butterflies. She also wore a pink sash around her small waist. But her face wore an unusual expression, as if she didn't like what she saw when she looked at Teela.

Teela's blood ran cold as she realised she recognised the woman. She hadn't seen her in four years, but here she stood, very much alive, and holding a child. Teela suddenly understood everything. She understood that He-man had gone to Snake Mountain when he left the palace, and she understood why Evil-Lyn had disappeared from Skeletor's forces at around the same time. They were married! She'd thought she'd been prepared for the worst, but she was never prepared for this.

Evil-Lyn's eyes narrowed and she clutched her daughter a little tighter. "Teela…" she breathed. Teela took two slow steps forward.

"Mummy!" the little girl cried out, not understanding what was happening, but sensing, as children often do, that something was wrong. Lyn kissed her daughter's forehead.

"It's alright, little one"

Teela watched the scene for a moment, and then her eyes met the former evil witch's. "You had a baby" was all she said. It was a statement, not a question.

Evil-Lyn nodded.

"I am married now. She is our only child." That was all the witch was willing to supply, but Teela knew the rest.

"You married He-man, didn't you?" There was not too much anger there, more resignation. Perhaps, when she woke up this morning, she had had hope, perhaps now she realised that she'd lost He-man forever. The witch nodded.

"I did indeed, but what exactly are you doing here? I assume you didn't come just to talk to me?"

"I need to speak to He-man; we need him back at the palace"

Something, some unreadable expression, passed over Lyn's face. She shook her head.

"That is… …not possible. He-man has no desire to return to the Masters… …any of them."

Lyn didn't add 'not even you', but she didn't have to. It was implied by her tone. Teela's green eyes narrowed.

"I'd like to hear that from He-man himself" she said calmly, brushing a strand of her red hair from her eyes.

Suddenly, she heard He-man call from the house "Lyn, who's there?" She felt flooded with warmth at hearing his voice again after so long. She remembered how she used to savour every compliment she heard from his wonderful, rich tones.

Lyn narrowed her own eyes, but kept her gaze locked on Teela, suddenly she lowered her voice.

"Why do you Masters have to ruin my life?" she was speaking in an angry whisper "He-man and I have been fine for four years, raising a family, and working honestly. Now you think you can just turn up at _my _home, and demand him back? Get out of here!"

Teela remained staunchly where she was "Not until I see He-man"

"I'm going to ask you one last time…" Evil-Lyn began, but then, at once, everything seemed to move in Teela's favour. Lyn's baby started crying, and Lyn was distracted for a moment as she moved to comfort the wailing child. Whilst her attention was diverted, He-man suddenly appeared in the doorway beside her, and Teela's heart leapt for joy.

He looked as handsome as he always had, and when he saw his old friend, his face broke into a smile. "Teela!" he exclaimed warmly. Lyn looked stricken, and Teela knew that the witch had just lost their little battle of the wills.


	8. Teela Tries

Thirty minutes later, and Teela was sitting drinking tea in He-man's cottage, as if nothing negative had ever passed between them. Lyn, although she'd conceded to make the tea at her husband's request, was marching back and forth between the kitchen and parlour, shooting Teela the occasional dark look.

"You've changed your hair" He-man finally remarked, with a slight smile.

It was strange, Teela thought, four years apart and that was all he could think to say to her. It was true though, after He-man had left the palace, Teela had suddenly felt like a different person. She'd wanted to show it too, so she'd lopped off her beautiful, auburn locks. Her red hair now rested on her shoulders. At the time, she'd felt good, more like an adult, but now she found herself twisting up a hand self-consciously to pull at a strand.

"Do you like it?" she said the question quietly. Lyn was in the kitchen, but something told Teela she wouldn't have approved of what she was asking, He-man gave a slight, curt nod.

"It looks very… …grown up. Teela, surely you didn't come here just to show me your new hairstyle?"

Teela lowered her green eyes, and He-man watched her with interest. There was something different about her now; it was as if she'd grown up a lot in his absence. She was still tough, but there was a new calm, a kind of quietness about her that he'd never seen before. She lowered her eyes a lot, and her voice was softer.

"He-man… …we need you back at the palace" she said simply.

"What?" He-man was stunned.

Teela had hoped for a smile, but she got none, and all the warmth that had been in He-Man mere moments before, vanished. She heard a slight rustle, and realised that Lyn was listening in from the kitchen.

"We need you back at the palace, desperately" she repeated, but He-man was already shaking his head.

"Teela, I can't go back. I'm not a hero anymore." He sounded and felt weary. Impossible dreams spiralled before him.

"But you could be!" she jabbed her finger at He-man's chest. "You were our friend as well, have you just forgotten about us?"

He-man's eyes narrowed a little, that wasn't fair "You all seemed to forget about me for four years"

Teela was shocked; just a moment ago she'd been enjoying He-man's company, now he seemed so cold. What had happened to her former friend? He still looked the same, but it was as if someone else was wearing his skin. Instead of raising her voice, which she might have done four years ago, she lowered it.

"We didn't ask you to leave, you know. We were all struggling to cope. It was your choice"

"You didn't ask me to stay either" He-man pointed out.

"I didn't have a choice!" Teela looked up at him, but her eyes were filled with sorrow, not anger "I was 16, I didn't understand! You used to be forgiving…"

"I used to be a lot of things" was all He-man said, his eyes on the floor.

From her spot by the kitchen doorway, Lyn listened, out of sight. She was intrigued as neither of them was shouting, but even so, their words were filled to the brim with grief and tainted with a kind of bitterness that Lyn could vaguely remember from her days at Snake Mountain. Teela was standing up to go now.

"I'm sorry, He-man" she said "I'm sorry I didn't stop you. I'm sorrier now than ever, but you still have a chance to get your old life back. I won't give up on you this time- I'll be back!"

With that, Teela almost ran from the cottage, and left He-man sitting there, his eyes on the floor.

The moment she got outside, Teela fought back tears. He-man speaking to her so coldly was worse than all the things she could have imagined. But she wouldn't give up! She would find a way!

* * *

He-man didn't speak another word about it til' he and Lyn were in bed, drifting off to sleep. He-man suddenly roused Lyn by saying;

"Do you think I should go back?"

"No" Lyn's reply was short and sweet, but she sensed an uneasiness in He-man. Deep down, he was angry at Teela and all the Masters for not stopping him from leaving; but even so, he remembered his days at the palace as being wonderful. In about four minutes, Teela had touched something in him which Lyn hadn't even seen in four years. It was hope. Lyn was jealous of Teela, and that's why she had to stop He-man going back to the palace, no matter what.

If it took a few minutes for Teela to give him a strange kind of hope, how long would it be until he forgave her and the other Masters for letting him leave, or until he realised that he and Teela would be a better couple than him and Lyn currently were.

"I keep thinking about how angrily I spoke to Teela, I should apologise… …I think she really meant her apology" he trailed off, but Lyn knew his mind was still on _her_-that red haired harpy! He-man continued "…living in the palace would definitely provide a better life for you and Helen"

Lyn suddenly felt panicked "He-man, you're just thinking about all your options, which is perfectly natural, but I don't want to move to the palace. We're settled here, you said yourself earlier, you can't go back."

"I know what I said- it was just my immediate reaction, but now I've had time to think about it. Maybe I should go there for a little while, just a few weeks, a trial run…"

He-man had never been the same since the day of Tri-Klop's death, Lyn knew that. He got things muddled sometimes. He was intrigued by what had happened to the Masters since he left…..or he was thinking of this as a 'sign'.

"I could just try it for a few days maybe, you could stay here with Helen if you're really not comfortable."

Lyn was silent for a long moment; she looked at the hopeful light in He-man's eyes. She tried to make her voice as soft as Teela's had been earlier.

"He-man… …it won't bring you back your former glory" she said gently. He-man shook his head.

"I know, but I feel like all the years since Tri-Klops death have been leading up to something. Maybe this is it?"

Lyn narrowed her eyes at this.

"Like I said, I should go and apologise to Teela, and just stay for a few days, see what the palace is like now." The hopeful light was getting stronger "If you're really not comfortable, you can stay here-it'll only be a few days" Unsurprisingly, He-man repeating this last utterance didn't make Lyn feel any better.

_No way am I letting Teela get any closer to him_, Lyn thought, _if he goes to the palace-Helen and I are going too!_


	9. A Mother's Welcome

"He did what!?" Queen Marlena stared aghast at Teela.

In fact, King Randor and all of the Masters were staring aghast at her. This was because approximately ten seconds earlier, she'd told them that He-man had not only married Evil-Lyn, but had also shacked up in a cottage with her and had a child.

"I'm sorry, my queen" Teela said quietly, with real remorse. She felt for Marlena and Randor, she really did. On one hand, a grandchild-and that was what Helen was, was a precious gift. On the other hand-Evil-Lyn! That was all there was to say really- the one-word sentence that spoke volumes; Evil-Lyn.

The Masters looked like someone had died. Teela's father was shaking his head gravely. When he first heard that Teela was going to seek He-man he'd kept his composure, his face a passive mirror. But on hearing that He-man was married to Evil-Lyn, it was as if the mirror had cracked, or rather, fallen to the ground and shattered into a thousand pieces.

"_Such a bad omen…" _Teela thought, picturing mirrors smashing all around her. The Queen was still struggling to regain her regal manner, but after a few moments of silence, Marlena finally said;

"Well, he is still only our hope…"

"…_And your only son." _Everyone else in the room added silently.

"Does this mean Evil-Lyn will be queen?" Orko asked excitedly. It was the question everyone had avoided for the last four years. Since Adam was gone, who would rule? Everyone had just assumed it would be Duncan. Marlena looked at Randor and then Duncan a little uneasily; a silent understanding seemed to pass between them in those few seconds.

"No, Orko" Marlena said gently "When Adam left, he abdicated. You can't just 'undo' it- it's not that simple. We wouldn't allow it anyway. Evil-Lyn will not be queen."

"Then… …who?" Teela asked, now as inquisitive as Orko

Marlena sighed "Actually Teela, your father was next –in-line, but given that he's the same age as my husband- we've decided to bypass that. We were hoping, as his daughter, that you might be queen should anything happen to us."

"Me?!" Teela's eyes widened, shock raced through her system, numbing and elating her at the same time "I mean I'd be honoured... …but" she didn't know what to say.

"Teela, you're a brave warrior, you're smart and well-liked and people listen to you." Did Teela imagine it, or did Randor sound almost regretful that Teela hadn't been born to him? Teela nodded. She hadn't been lying, she did feel honoured.

"Queen Teela" she whispered quietly, still in awe.

Randor smiled slightly "I take it you're happy about it then?" Teela nodded, still dumbstruck.

Marlena rose imperiously and looked at her husband and the Masters; she began to walk down the steps from her throne.

"Where are you going?" Randor asked.

She turned and looked in his eyes searchingly for a moment "To see him…" she finally said, and with that, she began to walk towards the doors. Randor waited approximately three seconds and then followed her. The Masters looked to Man-at-Arms for instruction. Their leader gave a brief, curt nod and they began to file out after King Randor and Queen Marlena.

"_Everybody loves to see wreckage"_ thought Teela. She knew in her heart that the Masters were only going to protect the King and Queen, but she couldn't help but imagine that they were going to see if He-man had made a mess of his life, or if he was happy… …or both.

* * *

Lyn and He-man were sitting outside their cottage, talking quietly, when the Masters arrived. They hadn't talked about Teela's visit anymore, though of course, Lyn _knew_ it was still on He-man's mind, but whilst that irked her, she decided her best move was to try and distract him- which was why she was sitting outside the cottage, taking to him about the wildflowers which bloomed all over the grass nearby. Then, she saw the sky sleds.

Her first thoughts were that it was just the return of Teela, then she realised how many of them there were, but before she could react or shout, they were landing! And every Master Lyn had ever known, as well as the King and Queen, were dismounting and walking towards them. He-man stood up from his chair, looking just as shocked as Lyn felt.

"What the-" he began, but he stopped himself as Queen Marlena walked towards him.

"I-We… ..We came to see you... …I was hoping you'd agreed to return to the palace. We can help you… …move? I want to help you" Queen Marlena was silently angry with herself. 4 years without seeing her son, and that was the best she could come up with? But then He-man took her hands in his.

"I've missed you, you and everyone else" he confessed openly, making all communication easy. Lyn raised her eyebrows. They seemed to have forgotten she even existed.

"_Why can't I be at the forefront of my husband's attention… …just for once?" _she asked the Gods silently.

But as if they'd heard her, He-man turned to Lyn and introduced her, or rather, re-introduced her to the Masters as his wife. A few Masters nodded, Ram-man and Mek-a-nek attempted a smile, but apart from that there was no joy in the proclamation.

"Lyn and I and our daughter would love to return to the palace" He-man announced, to the audible joy of his former friends. Marlena beamed and threw her arms around He-man.

"_She seems clingy… …I wonder why?" _Lyn thought, but she brushed it off. She felt innately trusting of Marlena for some reason, but then, she knew that a lot of people did. Marlena was just one of those people that it was hard to dislike, even if you were once their enemy- not like Teela.

Lyn was rather shocked at He-man's announcement, and rather angry that he hadn't discussed it with her properly. He hadn't thought about her, but that was no surprise was it? One look at him though told her his mind was made up. It would be dangerous to rock the boat.

"_Fine…" _Lyn thought. They would go to the Palace, they would live there with Helen, but she'd get him to move back somehow… …she just had to figure out a way to keep his interest, and of course, keep Teela away from him.

* * *

Lyn couldn't believe the turn her life had taken, a few hours later and here she was, being shown around the palace by the bonnie Queen Marlena. She and He-man were to have a large, elegant room with a small door off to the side that led to a room for Helen. Lyn had to admit that the palace was exceedingly, extravagantly beautiful; all marbled ceilings, silk clad nobles and landscaped gardens, yet she already feared that this cream-walled place could never truly be her home. A memory, something to do with beige walls, bubbled up inside her, but she couldn't really focus in on it, and it vanished as quickly as a fleeting breeze.

"What a beautiful room" she said, looking around. A large, luxurious double bed, ornate cupboards and drawers and a huge golden-framed mirror on a far wall were all here to welcome her. Lyn sat down heavily on the bed, her daughter in her arms. Helen scrambled to get free, wanting to run around and look. Marlena invited herself to sit down on the bed next to Lyn.

"Where did He-man go?" Lyn asked, in all the confusion of people running this way and that, she couldn't remember.

"To look round the gardens" the Queen replied, she didn't say anything for a long moment, then she spoke "Lyn, I realise how difficult this must be for you…"

Lyn felt a small ache in her chest- someone was trying to reach her. Why couldn't it have been her husband? She almost craved Marlena's sympathy, but she didn't want to give in so easily. Not yet. If she gave in, it would mean she might start getting comfortable here and that wasn't what she wanted. She wanted to leave as soon as possible.

"I-I really need to rest for a little while…" she told the Queen awkwardly. Marlena nodded understandingly and left her alone. Lyn put Helen down for nap in the adjoining room, and then sunk down onto the bed to ruminate on the day's events.

* * *

He-man looked at the beautiful, lush gardens he'd spent so many hours in as a boy; the lovely, towering trees, the ornate fountains, the blooming rainbows of flowers. He sighed with unequivocal pleasure. Then he heard footsteps and spun round.

"Want some company?" It was Teela, in her old battle uniform, her now shoulder-length hair in a ponytail. He almost wanted to say no, to traverse the garden in silence pondering on his thoughts. He couldn't bring himself to be that cruel though; he knew how much Teela had missed their friendship, so he offered her his arm and the pair descended down the stone steps into the lower gardens.

"He-man?" Teela said when they'd gone a little way in companionable silence "How is it that you came to be married to Evil-Lyn?"

"There is something in Lyn, a kind of quiet understanding that we share." He-man knew he hadn't really answered her question in the technical 'how' sense, but he could never really put his feelings for Lyn into words. He tried again.

"When I left the palace, I went to Snake Mountain. I was searching for atonement, but instead, I found Lyn. We used to talk, and-and one day, we thought her life might be in danger- she needed me." He-man felt ashamed over his clumsy words and all that they expressed as well as all that they couldn't.

"I understand" Teela said automatically, although she didn't.

"Everyone is so shocked over it…" mused He-man quietly. Teela looked at him and smirked;

"Well of course they are! How would you feel if I decided to marry Skeletor?" she asked.

He-man had a brief mental image; Teela sitting on Skeletor's throne and ordering the Overlord of Evil to fetch this and that, whilst Skeletor hurried about frantic and afraid of his new wife's wrath. To his surprise, He-man burst out laughing.

"Sorry! Sorry! I just had this image of you being married to Skeletor and giving him merry hell!" he explained to his bemused friend.

Teela considered this for a moment, then touched He-man's arm "Hey! That's a great idea" she joked "Our newest battle plan, marry Skeletor and annoy him to death."

The pair laughed again and for a second, it was just like old times as the setting sun cast its glowing, warm, golden-pink rays all around them.

* * *

Evil-Lyn loved sunsets. She was sitting watching this particularly glorious one from her window. She pressed her forehead against the glass. She had always done this when she was young, wishing she could slip right through and somehow be absorbed into the beauty of the scene. Then she could escape everything just for a minute.

Lyn knew she was over-reacting. When did she become so scared all the time? So blank? So unhappy? It hadn't been like this in the early days of her marriage. She and He-man were still strangers, and everyday she was filled with the kind of excitement that comes from still getting to know someone and imagining that they could be perfect for you. She also always found him so deliciously handsome, but she hadn't felt that way for a while. She was too detached to be so frivolous and it wasn't like her. She had to calm down; He-man was not going to forget all about her just because he'd moved into the palace. She looked out of her window, admiring that sunset and the beautiful, gently darkening gardens below. Then, something caught her eye. When she realised what it was, those violet eyes of hers narrowed angrily.

He-man and Teela were standing in the gardens, laughing together. His face was alive with joy, and Teela's hand was resting on his arm, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.


	10. Honey

_I have a definite 'plan' for this story now, which makes writing easier. I'm planning for it to have 18 chapters all in all. Thanks for reading- as a new writer; I really appreciate all the reviews! (I know Lyn may appear a bit 'passive' at the moment, but don't worry- she'll be giving some people attitude soon enough) _

_Also, I recently reviewed 's rating guidelines. This story is rated (in my head) as roughly PG13. So just to be on the 'safe side', I want to announce in advance that this chapter contains some minor adult themes._

_Porcelain-Heart x _

* * *

In the last four years He-man had come to know a lot about his wife. When they were newly-weds, every evening he would cup her face in his large hands and say;

"Tell me something about you?"

Lyn would respond with some titbit of information- it was a game they would play. And through doing this, He-man learnt a lot about the woman he'd pledged his life to.

He learnt that she'd grown up going to the village school in a town where her nickname was 'Pretty Lynny' on account of her long, white hair and graceful gestures. He learnt that she'd first become interested in dark magic when she'd stolen a book from her father's study aged twelve. He learnt that she'd often been unhappy and had run away from home. As a result of the running away, he learnt that she'd come to Snake Mountain aged seventeen with only two copper coins in her pockets, and that handsome, blue-skinned Keldor was the only one who could ever make her truly laugh.

Each day was a voyage of discovery. He discovered that rain was her favourite weather, and that she thought a soothing cup of tea could heal any minor, emotional wounds. At the time, He-man had believed he'd known a lot about her. Now he realised what a dangerous game it was he'd been playing. He had stitched together this mental blanket of all the things he knew and thrown it over her, so it hid any parts of her he didn't know. As if by knowing her favourite foods and what songs she liked to sing to Helen at night could somehow make up for the fact that he knew nothing about her insecurities or hopes or fears. There was always a kind of unspoken silence between them about certain things, but since Teela's first visit to their cottage, it had grown larger.

He-man knew this because when he came in from his walk in the gardens, Lyn seemed to turn to stone. She was obviously angry, but he had no idea why? What good was it now to know that rain was her favourite weather? He wished he could see into her soul and understand everything, but they had never been like that. She hid parts of herself from him always.

"Lyn- what's wrong?" he asked sitting down next to her on the bed. She just shrugged and looked at him blankly. He-man tried to put his arms about her, but she wriggled out of his grasp and stood up. Turning, she saw how hurt he looked at this and felt an unexpected stab of guilt.

"I'm just tired…" she lied. When he looked doubtful she added "We should head to the great hall… …for dinner." He-man nodded.

"I'm just going to get Helen- a nursemaid was watching her while I unpacked."

"Actually, that's not necessary." He-man informed her "Children don't eat in the great hall; the nursemaid will have fed her by now. We can collect her after we eat."

When Lyn looked surprised, He-man added "They usually consider feeding the children to be one of their duties. It's just how children are raised in the palace."

Lyn was taken aback; she'd have to do something about this. She didn't really want strangers raising her child but tonight she was tired, so she'd let it be. He-man and Lyn walked to the great hall in silence. He-man was dressed in a green tunic and dark green hose. Lyn herself was wearing a pale, blue dress with flowing sleeves and golden embroidery along the hem. They looked and felt oddly mismatched.

They continued their meal in silence. Well, Lyn ate in silence- still irritated at her husband's behaviour in the gardens earlier. He-man chatted to all his fellow Masters-including Teela, who were seated in a semi-circle around him and Lyn. He no longer seemed the least bit perturbed that his wife was ignoring him.

As Lyn drifted off into a daydream she had a sudden image of her mother. She had never really known her mother, who died when she was tiny, but to replace her she would often imagine that she saw her. This imaginary mother of Lyn's had been there since she was a small girl, offering advice and comfort. As a result she'd become more like a mother to Lyn than her real one had ever had the chance to be. Sometimes when she was younger, the image of her 'mother' was so real that Lyn would almost swear she could smell her perfume- like peaches. Then she had grown up and stopped seeing such things for years on end, but now the 'image' of her mother leaned in conspiratorially towards her adult daughter.

"_You catch more insects with honey than vinegar…" _she whispered in a silky tone, and then the image faded.

Lyn's eyes shot open. She had been dreaming. He-man hadn't even noticed and was still joking with the Masters, nothing had changed. She had had enough of this for one night, so she rose, imperious as a queen. He-man looked at her.

"I hope you charming Masters won't take offense, but I'm quite exhausted. I must fetch Helen and retire for the night."

The Masters all agreed that they understood in a resounding chorus of voices. Lyn couldn't quite meet He-man's eyes as she swept from the room and wandered down the deserted, marble corridors to where Helen was. Here- a wooden, beautifully panelled door. Lyn knocked and heard a warm, female voice answer "Come in!"

As Lyn opened the door, she was surprised. A young woman-perhaps in her early twenties, was sitting with Helen on her knee, reading her a story, but she wasn't the woman whom Lyn had left Helen with earlier- that had been an older woman of about fifty or so, with greying, 'salt and pepper' hair. Still, Helen was giggling with delight which only increased when she saw Lyn.

"Mummy!" she cried out, stretching her arms out towards the familiar figure. Lyn advanced forwards and eyed the woman. She wore the pale, purple serving uniform with its unique, square hat, but her shoulder-length, brown curls burst out on either side. She was attractive enough. There was something alive and mischievous in her almost feline-shaped face with its high cheekbones. Her green eyes seemed to be laughing and her small, pointed nose was dotted with freckles. Her wide mouth, which was bared in a mischievous grin, showed a lot of white, slightly pointed teeth.

"Is she yours?" the woman asked in a broad accent, gesturing to Helen. Lyn nodded and the woman rose and plonked Helen unceremoniously into her mother's arms. Helen put her arms around Lyn's neck.

"Oh- how sweet!" the woman exclaimed.

"If you don't mind my asking- what happened to the woman who was here earlier?" Lyn looked around, bewildered.

"Oh, how rude of me! That was Bertha- just between you and me, her son's _always _getting in trouble with the law. She had to go because of something _bad_ he did, I think, but I'm a qualified nursemaid too!" she extended a hand towards Lyn. "I'm Christina, by the way" she added, still smiling.

Lyn took her hand and shook it. There was a beat of silence between the women before Lyn asked "Was my Helen well behaved?"

"A little angel! Mind you, no child is too hard for me to deal with…" Again that cat-like grin.

"And why is that?" Lyn asked, intrigued by whatever pearls of child-rearing wisdom this woman might have. The woman laughed merrily.

"Everything I know about child-rearing, I learnt from marriage…." Christina said. Lyn's eyebrows shot up.

"You're married?" she asked, shocked. Even within five minutes of meeting her, Lyn had to say that Christina didn't seem the type, and she looked far too young.

"Well… …separated" Christina admitted, and then she looked at Lyn "You think I'm too young, don't you?"

"Well I-I…" Lyn was flustered at having her thoughts guessed so easily, but Christina just smiled.

"I get that a lot- I'm actually twenty-eight. Anyway, as I was saying… …husbands are basically overgrown children. You just have to play to their wants and make them think they hold the power."

"_I don't think I'll be taking marriage advice from someone who's separated…"_ thought Lyn.

But then Christina added "It's so simple! You catch more insects with honey than vinegar, you know!"

Lyn's eyes widened. It was what her daydreaming had led her to earlier. Could it be a sign? Lyn was a great believer in signs, and she suddenly had an idea.

"Thankyou for the advice, Christina" she said, turning to go.

* * *

Back in her room, Lyn put Helen to bed in her separate little chamber, singing to her until she fell asleep then quietly closing the door. Lyn then dressed in her favourite nightgown- a satiny-purple affair. When the lights were out, she climbed into bed and waited. After about fifteen minutes, He-man came in and quietly prepared himself for sleep before sliding into the bed beside her. Lyn at once rolled over and cuddled up to him, in a way she hadn't done for weeks. He-man hesitated for a moment- still remembering the angry way she'd wriggled from his grasp earlier, but then he put his arms around her, holding her tight. He kissed the top of her head, and then her nose.

"I thought you were… …oh-so-exhausted?" he inquired, a little sceptically. But then he kissed his wife full on the mouth. Lyn could almost taste the sweetness of honey on his lips as she responded in kind. In fact, it was if she could taste it even after they broke apart- as if her throat were filled with honey. They made love sweetly, almost shyly as if they were strangers again. Lyn let herself be absorbed into He-man's warmth and love and beauty. She felt so safe and secure.

Afterwards, He-man held her close as she drifted off to sleep.

"I love you" he whispered, or at least, she thought he whispered it. By now she was floating between the real-world and the dream world of sleep. She might have imagined it. It was wonderful to fall asleep in He-man's embrace. She pushed out a fleeting, mental image of Teela, laughing with him in the gardens, touching his arm.

"_Let Teela have his arm" _Lyn thought smugly _"I get the rest of him…"_

She hadn't felt so calm in weeks, so sure of all the decisions she'd made in her life. He loved her and he was here. She slept fully that night, and dreamed that she was swimming through corridors filled with golden liquid, where she could hold her breath forever if she wanted to.

The next morning, Lyn awoke at the crack of dawn smiling, and reached over to cuddle up to He-man only to find the bed was empty. She sat up. He'd gone! He'd gone to train with his fellow Masters already and left her all alone. He'd never done anything like that before. He always cuddled up to her in the mornings.

"_I can't believe he just went?"_ Lyn thought.

She tried not to let it get to her. She tried to focus on the wonderful, warm memories of the previous night. She ran her tongue over her lips, as if she could still taste her husband's kisses. But instead all that remained was the slight, sour taste of bitter vinegar.


	11. The Fight

Lyn lay there in bed for the next thirty minutes, trying to get back to sleep and failing. She didn't want to read too much into the fact that He-man had just left her this morning, but it was hard not to. He-man had always been one to hold her close at night. He valued physical closeness very highly and was forever putting his arms around his wife or touching her face. Lyn had learnt in the early days of her marriage, that if she ever had a fight with He-man, the simplest thing to do was suddenly put her arms around his waist and hold him tight. That always caught him off-guard and diffused his anger. He would always put his arms around her too and they would forget what they were fighting about. In the past, she'd perceived this behaviour as being 'loving', but now she thought that maybe her husband was so touchy-feely because he didn't know what to say to her.

Maybe it was just a simple way to feel close without actually knowing someone. Lyn hated living in the palace already- it dragged up all her insecurities and made her annoyed. How dare He-man take her from the cottage where she was so happy and drag her to this place. In that moment, she decided that she'd had enough. It was time for Lyn to show her husband that she was no pushover!

She swung her legs out of bed and went to the en-suite bathroom, which (like everything else in the palace) was large and white-marbled. Queen Marlena just _had _to be responsible for the décor, Lyn decided, she seemed like the type, but didn't the woman ever grow tired of white marble? Lyn ran a hot, bubbling bath and allowed herself to soak for a long time. She had to get her family out of this palace, but how? After she was done washing, she wrapped herself in a large, fluffy towel and perused her wardrobe for an appropriate outfit. She wanted to 'power-dress' today- to show her husband and those Masters that she wasn't just a passive country wife. Had they forgotten that she was once Evil-Lyn- the most feared of all Skeletor's warriors? She almost wished she still had her old battle uniform- that would've raised some eyebrows!

After considering and discarding numerous pretty but brightly coloured dresses, Lyn finally settled on a black ensemble. It was a lace dress with straps rather than sleeves, a tightly fitted corset top and sleek skirt. It actually reminded her a little of her battle outfit in the way it was cut. She selected some lacy, black, fingerless gloves to match it and then surveyed herself in the mirror. _"I look ready" _she thought _"I look ready to face my husband."_

Lyn went and roused Helen and dressed her in a pink, frilly dress with puffed sleeves, deciding that her daughter, rather than herself, could look cheery and frivolous enough for the both of them. Then she went to leave her with the nursemaids.

"It will just be a little while, darling." Lyn told Helen, as the small girl clung onto her mother's hand. Helen wasn't used to being left so much, but Lyn was unsure what route her conversation with He-man might take. She didn't want her daughter there if she and her husband started having 'words'. She knocked on the crèche door, which was opened by the nursemaid, Christina.

"Oh, how lovely to see you again, Mrs" she said.

Lyn nodded "Would you mind taking Helen for a little while- I shouldn't be long. Maybe twenty minutes or so?"

"That's alright- most of the rich, snobby women don't even acknowledge me. They just drop their babes into my arms and run off…" Then she added quickly "Not that I'm implying that you're a rich snobby woman."

"Of course not" Lyn said, raising her eyebrows slightly. She went into the room and sat Helen down with two other children who were playing with wooden building blocks.

"Mummy…" Helen began to fret. She was only three, but didn't they always say that children could sense when something was wrong? And things definitely weren't right between Helen's parents at the moment. She seemed a little clingier than normal, Lyn had noticed.

"I'll be back soon, my love." Lyn said, and she bent down to give her daughter a kiss on the forehead. Then she nodded to Christina and left the room, heading down the hall to face her husband.

* * *

He-man had risen early that day, roused by a knock on his bedroom door. He was just cuddling up to his sleeping wife when he'd heard two light taps coming from outside. Getting up and wrapping himself in a robe, he headed to the door and found Teela waiting on the other side.

"Hey, I'm off to do some early training with the other Masters- wanna come along?"

He-man looked over at the sleeping form of his wife, still tucked up in blankets. He usually always cuddled up to Lyn in the mornings, but one training session wouldn't hurt. He nodded to Teela "I'll be along in ten minutes."

He got dressed and kissed the sleeping Lyn on the cheek. Then he headed out to join his fellow Masters. It was wonderful to train with them again. Although he hadn't trained in many years, He-man found that he had lost none of his strength or agility. He easily beat several of his comrades in light sparring and there was plenty of time for laughing and talking in between. He-man finally felt some guilt over what had happened with Tri-klops lift from his shoulders for the first time in years. He knew he had made the right choice to bring his family to the palace. When they took a break from training for a few minutes, Man-e-faces started telling them a funny story about his recent trip to the market. They were all laughing when Manny suddenly broke off and pointed to the glass doors of the training area "Erm… …He-man- your wife's coming this way and she doesn't look happy."

All the Masters turned to look and saw that he was right. Lyn was dressed in a tight black dress and was storming towards the training area with a face like thunder. He-man raised his eyebrows a little, she'd seemed happy last night. Then again, her mood had been on and off since they arrived here. He was getting a little tired of it honestly- he loved his beautiful wife, but lately, the slightest thing could set her off in a mood. She opened the door of the training area and marched right up to He-man, ignoring his fellow Masters. She was clearly ready for a confrontation.

"I need to talk to you." She said, pointing a finger at her husband's chest and then she added "In private."

It was clear that she was annoyed, but He-man was beginning to get a little tired of her moods.

"Anything you want to say to me, you can say in front of the Masters" he told her firmly. It was time he took charge of this. She'd been all over him last night and now she was annoyed for no reason. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at her husband's words and she said "Fine. Have it your way… …I don't want to live in the palace."

The Masters suddenly became very interested in the minute details of their weapons. Each trying to pretend that they weren't listening in and simultaneously intrigued to get some insight into the bizarre marriage of Evil-Lyn and He-man.

He-man sighed "Why?"

"I'm not happy here" She stated it for the simple fact it was.

"You seemed alright last night." He said.

"But this morning, you couldn't get away fast enough." She shot back without thinking. She regretted the words the minute they were out of her mouth, but she couldn't take them back. Now it was He-man's turn to narrow his eyes. Lyn flinched a little as he fixed his gaze on her and found she couldn't quite meet his eyes. She knew she'd been a bit harsh and unfair, but if she didn't get her feelings out now, then she never would.

He-man gently caught hold of his wife's wrists "Look at me." He told her.

She did- he still looked annoyed. "Is that what you really think of me, Lyn?"

His voice sounded cold and she cringed a little, knowing that Teela was probably enjoying this altercation and making mental notes about it. To be honest, it _had _been what she thought, but now she felt foolish and realised she'd overreacted. She wanted to put her arms around He-man and end this fight like she used to, but she couldn't do that with all the Masters watching. She was far too proud.

"Is that what you really think of me, Lyn?" He-man was asking again. He wanted to know and suddenly, it was a very loaded question. The answer now had serious consequences. If she said 'no' and yielded to him, then nothing would be solved. But if she said 'yes', that would cause a greater argument.

Lyn decided to avoid the question and instead focused on her own feelings "You didn't even ask me about moving here. I've been invisible to you since we arrived at this damned palace!"

There was a very long and icy silence. Finally, He-man tightened his jaw and then he spoke carefully "It's impossible to ignore you, Lyn. You haven't stopped complaining since we got here."

Lyn's jaw dropped. He had never spoken to her like that, but then again, she had never said such nasty things to him as she was now saying. This was their first 'proper fight' in years. He-man seemed to look guilty for a couple of moments. Then he simply said "Look, we'll talk about this later. Now isn't the time."

He turned to his fellow Masters and gestured to them to continue training. Was it Lyn's imagination or was Teela smirking at her a little? He-man took up his position- sparring with Buzz-off. Lyn realised that she had just been beaten in a battle of the wills with her husband and now, they were both angry at each other. He-man studiously tried to ignore her and focus on his sparring. She was just getting angry, he thought, there was no point continuing this until she calmed down. He just wished he knew how to make her happy, but he didn't and the stress was getting to him.

Lyn turned and silently left the training area with as much of her dignity intact as possible. She stalked back down the corridors silently fuming- at herself, at her husband and at the Masters. She went and sat down on a bench in the corridor for a few minutes, trying to catch her breath. She was literally shaking at all the anger she was feeling. She didn't feel so good all of a sudden. The stress of this was obviously getting to her. She briefly considered going to a palace healer. They might be able to give her something to help calm her down and eliminate some of the stress she felt. But then, she didn't really want to be drugged up, not when there was a chance that Teela could snatch her husband from right under her nose.

"_Maybe just this once- I could see what the healers here have in stock." _She thought to herself. She rose from the bench and began to make her way to their workshop. They had a large lab-workshop in the palace where they made various potions. If you wanted to purchase something, one of the healers would take you into a little room and ask you some questions to make sure that you received the correct potion and knew the dosage you should take. Lyn walked to their workshop and knocked on the door. It was opened by an eccentric-looking older man with an unusual accent.

"Why-it's He-man's pretty wife!" He exclaimed "What can I do for you?"

"I'm considering buying a potion." She replied. He nodded and let her into the lab. She was guided past various benches and shelves of glass vials and people working and reading potion manuals. Finally, she was placed in a small room that simply had two chairs and a rather sad looking potted plant. The eccentric older man gestured to a chair and sat in the other one himself.

"What kind of a potion was you wanting, missy?" he asked. Lyn shrugged.

"I've been quite stressed lately. Do you have anything for that?"

"Oh, plenty." He assured her "The one that would suit you best is _Calaexus Midora. _It's a very simple potion- just one spoonful every morning and it'll keep you calm for the rest of the day."

Lyn was still not a hundred percent convinced that this was the road she wanted to go down. Perhaps it would be better to sneak He-man a potion that would make him want to leave the palace? But as soon as that idea came into her head, she discarded it. If she did that and He-man ever found out, he'd probably divorce her on the spot. The healer asked for her hand so that he could do a quick check to make sure that she'd be okay to take the potion. She delicately passed her right hand to him and his eyes flashed with a magical green light as he studied her. This was how healers did their tests.

"I can't sell you any potion." He said after a few moments.

Lyn was surprised "Why?"

The healer smiled at her and said "You're eight weeks pregnant- congratulations!"


	12. A Wife's Secret

_Thanks to everyone who's reviewed and is still following this story. This was one of the toughest chapters to write as I wanted to stay true to Lyn's 'prickly' character, but also show the vulnerability she feels in her marriage. Hope you enjoy!_

* * *

Lyn sat there in stunned silence for a few moments as the healer continued to congratulate her on her pregnancy. Another baby? A second pregnancy? It all seemed so unreal. Then again, Lyn did some mental calculations in her head; it had been about eight weeks since her last course. She hadn't even noticed because she'd been so busy pondering her marriage and her future these last few weeks. And she had been feeling a lot more tired and emotional lately. It all made sense when she thought about it.

To Lyn's surprise, a memory bubbled up inside her. It was something from the deepest, darkest recesses of her mind. Something she hadn't thought about in years and years. She remembered that when she had been nineteen, she had nearly died whilst living in Snake Mountain.

_Back then, on one of the lower levels of the mountain, there had been a room that contained a large pool. It was not the sort of pool one would swim in. It was murky and dark and rock-filled. It was only there because Merman sometimes used it- it contained a tunnel that led to the Sea of Rakash. Lyn liked to walk by the pool at night, when moonlight streamed through the cracks in the walls and reflected on the inky black water. It was a quiet place where Lyn could sit with her thoughts and lament the fact that she and her comrades were stuck behind the Mystic Wall._

_On this particular night, Lyn had been unable to sleep, so she'd meandered down to sit on the rocks beside the silent pool and think about life. This had been years before she'd cut her hair short- it had been down past her shoulders then. She was wearing a silky black nightgown, the same shade as the water. It had happened so fast. She'd just been skirting the edges of the pool when she'd slipped. As she fell, she'd hit her head on one of the rocks surrounding the water's edge. She'd fallen straight into the inky depths of the water, unable to react fast enough to save herself. Everything underwater was black, she couldn't tell if her eyes were open anymore or not and she felt the water rushing all around her as she sank. She knew that she was losing consciousness because of hitting her head. Her last thought was how sad it was that no-one had seen her, and she was going to die here._

_But she'd been wrong. Tri-klops had seen her. He'd been getting a drink of water when she floated past the kitchen in her nightgown, and curiosity had gotten the better of him- he'd decided to follow her and had seen the whole thing. He'd watched Lyn wander round the edges of the pool, seen her trip and hit her head and go into the water. Her white arms vanishing into the black depths. He'd leapt into action, racing to the water's edge and reaching down into the depths to pull her out. She hadn't been in long enough to lose consciousness properly, but she'd choked and spluttered all the same once Tri-klops heaved her onto dry land. The tech scooped her soaked form up into his arms and carried her to his lab. He had stripped off her sodden nightgown and Lyn was in such a state of shock that she did not try to fight him, she did not even register the fact that she was stark naked before him. Tri-klops did not seem to care either- he was in what she called 'mechanical mode' when he felt nothing and only focused on what needed to be done- completing his 'rescue mission'. He had promptly wrapped her up in a towel and pressed a cup of hot tea into her hands, then scanned her quickly with a doomseeker to make sure she was okay. Then he'd gone to report to Skeletor on what had happened. _

_Skeletor had been unsympathetic and had berated Evil-Lyn for her 'stupidity'. He had then banned anyone other than Merman from going near the pool. She hadn't cared; it gave her a shiver to even think about the pool. She'd been a lot younger and softer then and it had taken her two whole days to recover from the shock of nearly losing her life. But she distinctly remembered giving thanks to Tri-klops._

"_You saved my life" she'd said to him. _

_The tech had just shrugged, it was not important to him "Anyone would've done what I did."_

_No, they wouldn't have. Beastman and some of the others would have certainly let her drown, but she just gave Tri-klops a mysterious smile._

"_Maybe next time the tables will turn" she said to him "Maybe next time, you'll be in danger and I can save your life."_

_But she hadn't._

Lyn didn't know why she remembered this all of a sudden. Her near drowning had been years ago and it didn't seem to have anything to do with discovering she was pregnant, and then she realised. How she felt when she'd been submerged in that water- helpless and confused and losing control- that was how she felt now. It was as if her eyes were open and she couldn't see anything and didn't know which way to turn. She was waiting for someone to come and pull her up onto dry land. She hated feeling vulnerable- that was why she'd buried the drowning memory so deeply, but now she knew she was definitely vulnerable again. Alone in this palace, with a small child and a husband who wanted to be with his friends all the time, and another baby on the way. She sighed.

On the one hand, a part of her was filled with a kind of excitement and joy at the thought of a new baby. It would be good for Helen to have a sibling- a little brother or sister to play with. She was proud of her body, and what it could achieve. Proud that she was able to have another baby. He-man would be thrilled and Teela would be spitting blood, she thought smugly. She ran a hand tenderly over her flat stomach. She thanked the healer and left his rooms, still pondering the turn her life had taken.

During her last pregnancy, He-man had treated her just like a princess. He'd always been good to her, but once they found out she was having a baby, He-man started to treat his wife as if she were a delicate object that was made out of glass. He seemed to forget that she'd once been a warrior. Nothing was too good for her or too much trouble for him. If she had a craving for the Garua berries that grew on the eastern side of the Evergreen forest, she just had to say the word and He-man would fetch them for her. If she asked him to take a day off work to be with her, he would drop everything. Of course, she didn't really need all those things. But she was intrigued that she had her husband totally in her power for the first time. She made a little game of it- ask for something and see how long it would take him to do it. Now she was having her second pregnancy, Lyn was looking forward to being pampered by He-man again, she'd been feeling a little neglected lately. Some pampering and adoration were just what she needed.

But then again, the last few months of her pregnancy with Helen had been difficult, and now she was three years older. Would she be consigned to bedrest again? Lyn mused over this as she headed towards the nursery. She had given birth to Helen at home in her cottage and she had liked the fact that she had begun her 'family' in this place that was all hers. Wouldn't giving birth in the palace feel rather impersonal? Lyn wasn't sure that her husband would understand such things, and for the first time, she wished that she had a friend to talk to. But she had no friends.

She had the fleeting idea that maybe she could use her pregnancy to persuade He-man to move back to their cottage. He would probably agree to it- he would probably agree to anything that she wanted when she was in such a 'condition', but she was worried that He-man might resent her in the future for ruining his chance to live in the palace and be with the Masters again. Lyn knew full well that a baby could not patch up a broken marriage for anything longer than a few years. If she made He-man leave the palace, it would be one of those things that was always hanging over them, ready to be brought up in bitter, future arguments. She had to stay in the palace with him.

Of course, it was likely that when he found out about her pregnancy, he would be so devoted to her that it would leave any potential rivals for his affections out in the cold. But that thought didn't make Lyn as happy as it should and she knew why. She wanted He-man to love her like a normal husband and want to be with her because he enjoyed her company, not just because she was pregnant. But how would she ever know if he truly loved her? The second she told him she was pregnant, all their problems would be swept under the rug, forgotten but not gone.

'_Unless you don't tell him that you're pregnant' _said a little voice inside Lyn's head. That was a ridiculous idea of course. He would notice in a few weeks when she started to get bigger. She would have to tell him.

"_But not yet…." _The voice continued _"…give yourself a few weeks first. By then you might know if he really wants to be with you. You might know the 'truth' about your marriage and where you stand."_

The 'truth'? The idea of it made her shudder. How could she not tell her husband she was pregnant- the idea of such deception was beyond even her, wasn't it? She shook the thoughts off as if they were made of nothing more than dust and went to collect Helen from the nursery. She did not indulge in jovial chit-chat with any of the nursemaids. She was too afraid that her emotions might reveal themselves and give her away. Instead, she took Helen back to her room and settled down to read a children's book with her. Whilst Lyn pointed things out in the book and Helen exclaimed excitedly, she admitted that she felt a stab of pleasure that she was going to have a new baby. Helen seemed to grow up so fast; it was nice to think that she would have the chance to do this again.

Suddenly, the door opened and He-man walked in. He looked so stern and authoritarian that a shiver went down Lyn's spine. He clearly was still irritated at their fight earlier.

"Daddy!" Helen cried out, holding out her little arms and breaking some of the tension in the room. He-man walked over and scooped his daughter up. He looked so huge compared to the tiny child.

"Hello, my darling." He said to his daughter. He ignored Lyn.

"It's time for your nap, Helen." Lyn said, glancing at the clock on the wall.

"I'll take her." He-man said and it wasn't a question. He strode into the side room to put Helen to sleep. Lyn was left standing there alone in the middle of their bedroom. At a loss for what to do, she stripped off her fingerless gloves and placed them away, then she removed her shoes and went and sat on the bed. She knew what was coming.

Lyn had always been a firm believer in the idea of young children needing routine. Her father had always let her do whatever she wanted and she'd turned out wild and undisciplined. She wasn't willing to repeat his mistakes, so she had set Helen in a firm routine. Every day, Helen was put down for a nap at one o'clock. He-man knew that, so Lyn guessed that it was no accident that he'd come into their room just as Helen was about to take a nap. He obviously wanted to have a 'serious talk' with Lyn about what had happened that morning. She was not looking forward to this.

When He-man came out of the small side room, he still looked rather stern. He was so wonderfully handsome, even when he was angry, Lyn thought. He-man settled himself on the bed beside her.

"We need to talk." He said coolly.

Lyn felt an unwelcome jolt of fear. Pregnancy always made her feel much more vulnerable than she would've liked. Part of her wanted to fight He-man some more, part of her was tired of fighting and just wanted to ask He-man to take care of her, like a husband should. She let herself lean against her husband. He was a little taken aback at first, but he put an arm around her. He did not lift his gaze from the floor though. Lyn opened her mouth to try to tell He-man about the pregnancy and all she was feeling, but she just didn't have it in her to be that open and honest with him. She closed her mouth again.

"He-man- don't leave me." was all she managed. That was as close as she could get to telling him how she felt and what she wanted. He-man looked at her in surprise.

"Lyn, of course I'm not going to leave you." He said gently, kissing the top of her head "How could you even think such a thing?"

"I know we haven't been getting on so well lately…" she began, but then she trailed off, unsure of what to say next. She was trying to regain some sort of control over what was happening, but He-man had all the control and she was drowning once again, confused and needing to be pulled to shore.

"Lots of couples have ups and downs." He-man said soothingly. He was no longer stern. He-man was far too 'good' to stay angry for long. He always forgave quickly. Lyn flopped back onto the bed, feeling some of the tension dissipate. He-man lay down beside her and rested a hand gently on her stomach. She felt a tingly feeling and wanted to tell him about the baby, but they needed to have this conversation first. She turned so she was lying on her side, facing him. In fact, their faces were only inches apart. He-man kissed the tip of her nose gently.

"Are you really unhappy here, Lyn?" he asked tenderly.

"I don't really like it." She said honestly "But I know you're happy here."

"I am- I can't lie." He told her and her eyes slid sideways with discontentment.

Seeing the look on his wife's face, He-man considered something "How about a compromise? You give the palace a certain amount of time, say, three months or so? If you still hate it after that, we can go back to the cottage."

Lyn thought this through. Three months in this palace? She was sure she could last three months. Of course, she could have a tantrum and refuse and demand to go back to the cottage right now, but she didn't want He-man to resent her and think she'd ruined his chances. What choice did she really have?

"Fine- three months it is." She muttered grudgingly.

"You have to promise to really give it a chance!" He-man told her.

"I promise." She said, even more grudgingly. She wasn't happy about this, but at least she had a timeframe to work with. Three months and then hopefully, she and Helen and He-man would be out of this place. Where would her marriage be in three months' time though? She mused over this. Would Teela have tried to swoop in to claim He-man? Would the Masters have turned her husband against her? She tried to think that wasn't possible, but deep down inside, she knew that she really needed to discover where she stood in her husband's affections. She needed to know if he really wanted to be with her, without anything else influencing his decision. That meant that she wasn't going to tell He-man about her pregnancy anytime soon. It would be her little secret.


	13. Settling In

Once Lyn had made that promise to her husband to 'give the palace a chance', time there seemed to drag. A week passed, and another, and another and another. By now, Lyn was three months pregnant, but her stomach was still virtually flat and her pregnancy remained a secret- known only to her and the healer who'd revealed it to her. She knew she would have to tell He-man eventually, but it never seemed to be the right moment. Whereas before in the cottage, they would spend literal hours in each other's company, in the palace, He-man always seemed to be 'doing something'. Going off to battle or training or even just to spend time with the Masters.

The Masters themselves all had varying reactions to the fact that Lyn was living in the palace, and she herself was not overly enamoured of any of them. Some Masters, such as Ram-Man, Stratos and Man-e-Faces, went out of their way to make her feel welcome. They were always greeting her merrily whenever they saw her and asking how her day was and trying to engage her in conversation. This in itself bothered Lyn, because they were too friendly- it felt false. They had no real interest in her life, nor she in theirs. Other Masters such as Man-at-Arms, Roboto and Sy-Klone were largely indifferent to her. But then there were those who openly disliked Lyn, like Buzz-off and Teela. Whenever those two were forced to come face-to-face with their former nemesis, they either ignored her completely or tried to make some sort of underhanded comment.

Lyn knew that they weren't just angry at her because of the person she was. They couldn't accept the fact that she'd been able to avoid the dungeons completely after causing so much misery on Eternia. The way they saw it, she'd avoided the weight of Eternian justice and now she lived 'the good life'.

"_If they had any idea what my life is really like, they wouldn't be so annoyed" _Lyn thought bitterly. If they could see the confusion and internal battles and doubt and yes, even loneliness that waged within her, perhaps they would be a little more forgiving.

She spent most of her time nowadays in her and He-man's room, trying to stay out of their way. This was where Lyn learnt that she and her husband had very different ideas when they talked about 'settling in'. To He-man, who was increasingly happy and smiling nowadays, 'settling in' meant becoming chummy with the Masters and becoming fully involved in palace life. To Lyn, 'settling in' meant hiding out in her room and doing her best to stay out of the Masters' way. And, most of the time, that is exactly what she did.

One of Lyn's concessions was her morning walk in the palace gardens. Every morning, she would force herself to leave her room and take Helen on a walk around the beautiful lawns that surrounded the white-stone palace. Of course, she was always careful to give a wide berth to any area of the gardens where the Masters might be training, but she could not always completely avoid palace life.

One morning when Lyn and Helen were out walking especially early, Queen Marlena appeared out of nowhere and fell into step beside them.

"Might I walk with you?" The Queen asked and Lyn could only nod, quite unsure of what to say in the Royal's presence. Lyn sort-of liked Marlena. She didn't see or speak to her very often, but when she did, the Queen was always friendly, and not in that forced, overbearing way that some of the Masters were. There was a 'naturalness' to the way that Queen Marlena conducted herself, which Lyn realised was what made her so popular and beloved amongst her subjects.

The morning was crisp and a little cool with cloudless grey skies and a little dew still on the grass. Doubtless it would brighten up later. The two women walked in relatively companionable silence for a few moments, before Lyn felt that she should say something- anything. So she pointed at a bench that was situated by a flowery border.

"I was going to sit there" she announced, well aware of how awkward she sounded. If only someone had written a handbook on how to conduct yourself around royals who had once been your enemies- that would have been very helpful. Lyn was not a naturally 'friendly' woman, she was not the sort to drink tea and giggle with the girlish courtesans in the palace and she was too closed off and upper-class to consider befriending any of the servants. The intellectuals and scholars in the palace bored her and now that she was no longer a warrior, she had no interest in any soldier's life. The other mothers were too wary of her, knowing her evil past. She didn't fit into any one group, but she was trying to make an effort here with Queen Marlena. If Lyn had been rude to the Queen, that would have proved the Masters 'right' about her, and she couldn't have that.

They sat side-by-side on the bench and Lyn noticed that Marlena seemed untouched by the social awkwardness. Unlike Lyn, she didn't seem to be searching for something to say. But then, being a queen meant that she must be used to all kinds of social situations, Lyn reasoned. Helen ran in circles round the bench chattering away to herself for a few moments, before running off to examine the flowers that were growing nearby. Finally, Queen Marlena spoke.

"How old is Helen?" She asked softly.

"Three." Lyn searched for a way to make her reply longer, but came up with nothing. So she let the single word hang there in the air between them.

"What a nice age" remarked Queen Marlena wistfully, watching the little girl reach out her small hands to brush over the flowers' petals.

Lyn had heard that King Randor and Queen Marlena's own son, Prince Adam, had disappeared some years earlier. Shortly after He-man had come to Snake Mountain for 'atonement', the Royals had made an announcement to all Eternia that Prince Adam- their only son and heir- had decided to abdicate. According to the stories that Lyn had heard at the time, the two events were linked. It seemed that after He-man had left the Masters, Prince Adam had realised that he would now need to 'step-up' in battle and fight even harder. The pressure was too much for the famously cowardly prince, so he'd abdicated and left, settling on a quieter existence elsewhere. Lyn had heard a rumour that the former prince was now living on an island somewhere, making money as a fisherman. She didn't know how true it was. But she realised that she was suddenly being exposed to Marlena's pain and grief, and that made her uncomfortable. She knew she had to say something.

"Queen Marlena- I heard about Prince Adam abdicating a few years ago. I'm sorry." She managed.

The Queen's eyes widened slightly. "What _exactly _did you hear?" She asked Lyn.

The witch shrugged "I heard that after He-man left the Eternian Palace, Prince Adam felt too much pressure to become a brilliant warrior and defend Eternia, so he left. I heard he went to live on an island somewhere…"

Queen Marlena was shocked as she realised the implications of what Evil-lyn was saying. Lyn didn't know where Prince Adam was- that meant that He-man had never told his wife the truth- that he and Adam were one and the same.

"_How could he not have told her?" _Marlena thought. For these last few weeks, she had steered relatively clear of Helen and Lyn, but that was because she didn't want to be overbearing. She hadn't wanted to try and pretend that they could be an instant, happy family. She knew it had been difficult for Lyn to move to the palace, but now, Marlena realised that she was sitting here with her daughter-in-law and her granddaughter was picking flowers nearby, and neither of them knew who she really was. Neither of them knew that she was not just a queen- that she could be so much more than a queen to them. Neither of them knew she was family.

"Do you ever see Adam?" Lyn was asking.

"Sometimes" was Queen Marlena's truthful answer. Helen chose that moment to approach the women on the bench.

"Mummy, look! Pink flowers!" she declared, presenting Lyn with a fistful of uprooted Eternian starflowers. Lyn gave Queen Marlena an apologetic smile.

"Pink is her favourite colour" she explained. Queen Marlena nodded dumbly, watching her daughter-in-law kiss the head of her grandchild.

"Could I- could I give Helen a cuddle?" Marlena asked suddenly. If she didn't ask now, she might never get the chance again. To her surprise, Lyn nodded and so Marlena scooped Helen up into her lap and held her tight. The child sat still and Marlena touched the child's head with the palm of her hand, feeling her soft, golden head of hair. Just like Adam's when he was a toddler.

They stayed like that for a few moments and then, Queen Marlena finally placed Helen back on the ground.

"Thank you" the Queen managed, blinking back the beginnings of tears. "I- I'd better go now- Randor needs to consult me about some peace treaties."

She left then and Lyn watched her go. She had seen the tears beginning to form and guessed that Queen Marlena was sad because she missed Adam so. Queen Marlena however, waited until she was back inside the Eternian Palace before burying her head in her hands and taking a deep breath. This whole situation was a mess, but there was nothing the Queen could do. If He-man hadn't told his wife the truth about who he really was, then Marlena knew it was not her place to do so.

* * *

Lyn meanwhile, was feeling rather inspired by her talk with Queen Marlena. She had made an effort and it felt as though they had bonded. On the heels of this success, Lyn decided to reward herself with a visit to the Palace Library. One of the few good things about living in the palace was its library. It was a vast space filled from floor to ceiling with thousands and thousands of books. If you needed one of the books from the very top shelf, you would either need to be a giant, or ask one of the library monitors who were forever running around, looking mildly harassed. It was the largest and most popular library on the entire planet and for someone who devoured books like Lyn, it was a godsend. Despite its busyness, there were plenty of quiet places where you could read alone or simply reflect on your day.

It still being early morning when Lyn went in, it was reasonably quiet. She selected a children's book for Helen- a simple story about three tiny birds teaming up to defeat a larger, nastier bird, and then she began to peruse the other sections for herself. She decided that today, she would look in the room of rare books. A small room off to one side, with a few book cases of very old, antiquated tomes and a table in the middle. You were not allowed to take these books from the library, you could only read them in the room and it was usually full of scholars. This morning however, it was so early that Lyn thought she would try her luck. She could settle Helen in there with her children's book and then peruse the collection.

Lyn walked over to the room determinedly and opened the door. The moment she had though, she wished she hadn't, because the room was not empty. Instead, every single Master of the Universe was sitting around the table. They were having a sort of meeting and they all looked up at Lyn the moment she entered. She flushed an unwelcome shade of red as they stared at her. They were all there- Teela, Man-at-Arms, Sy-Klone, Man-E-Faces, Stratos, Roboto, Ram-Man, Mekaneck. Only her husband was missing.

"Hello Lyn" said Man-at-Arms, who was always one to take charge of a difficult situation. "Are you looking for your husband? He's doing a battle simulation, out near Grayskull."

"Actually, I wanted to borrow a book." Lyn said. The moment she said the words, she regretted them. If she'd said she was looking for her husband, she could have made her excuses and left, but now they all thought that she wanted to use the room.

"Borrow a book? Well, you've come to the right place." Buzz-off remarked a little snidely, and a couple of them snickered. Man-at-Arms gestured at the shelves "Go right ahead."

Lyn didn't want to now, but she felt that she had no choice. If she made an excuse and left, that would make her look weak in front of the Masters, as if she were afraid of them. So, she placed Helen in a vacant chair near the door and began to silently look over the shelves, aware that they were all still watching her. As she pulled out a book, and then another and then another, Man-at-Arms attempted to steer the meeting back on track. Lyn tried not to listen in on their conversation, but it was hard not to.

"This still doesn't solve the problem of what we should do about Calista…" Man-at-Arms was saying. Lyn wondered just who Calista was, but then Teela answered her question in the worst way possible.

"Ah, yes, Calista- Skeletor's new witch." Teela said smoothly. In shock, Lyn dropped the books she'd been holding and they fell to the floor with a noisy clatter. The Masters looked over at her, but she couldn't pretend now that she hadn't heard. Skeletor had a new witch?

Lyn didn't realise that she'd spoken this question out loud until Teela said "Yes- Calista has been working closely with Skeletor for two months now." Then she added, in a faux-innocent voice "It doesn't bother you, does it, Evil-lyn?"

Lyn knew that Teela using her old name was deliberate, so she picked up the books from the floor and straightened herself up. "Of course not, I don't care what Skeletor does."

Then she went and picked Helen up and left the room, well aware that she probably hadn't convinced anyone. She waited until she was back in her own room before letting the implications of the news wash over her. Skeletor had a new witch- he'd replaced her. A different woman was living in her room and working alongside her comrades and helping him. Another witch? Lyn shook her head. She knew she had made her choice, but she couldn't help but feel a little sad- it was never nice to be replaced, but then, what did she expect? She'd walked out four years ago without so much as a goodbye. Skeletor was not going to wait forever for her return. She'd made her choice. But was it the right one?


	14. Jealousy

_Chapter 14 of an eventual 18. I will get there eventually with this fanfic! In the meantime, prepare for some angst in this chapter! _

Lyn paced back and forth across the floor of her room. She had been doing this for several hours- ever since she'd found out about Skeletor and Calista. Back and forth. Back and forth. Evening was beginning to draw in, and Helen was quietly asleep in her room, but Lyn could not relax. She could not unwind. All these years, she had tried to block out thoughts of what might be happening in Snake Mountain. At times, she was admittedly curious. Now she knew the truth and wished she didn't.

_Is Calista smarter than me?_ She wondered. _Is she more powerful? Younger? More loyal? More popular? Is she prettier?_

Not knowing any of the facts, Lyn began to imagine the worst, picturing a gorgeous woman who outranked her in every area. Unsurprisingly, this imaginary rival resembled Teela rather a lot in Lyn's mind. Was it a coincidence that Lyn pictured this 'Calista' with green eyes and flowing red hair?

Suddenly, the door opened and He-man walked in. Today he had fought Kobra Khan and Rattlor and won. He looked battle-weary though, and he was not prepared for what could only be described as an 'avalanche' as his wife unexpectedly launched herself at him. Words flowing uncontrollably from her lips.

"He-man! Did you know? Did you know about Skeletor? Were you aware that he has a new witch?"

Lyn looked rather stricken as the words tumbled out, and He-man couldn't help but feel a little irritated that she was still so concerned about what Skeletor was doing. Hadn't she chosen a different life? Hadn't she put all that behind her?

"You mean Calista?" he asked. Lyn's face darkened a little.

"So, you did know? And you didn't tell me?" She ran a hand through her short, silky hair. In that second, He-man made a decision. They were not going to fight tonight- him and his wife. They were not going to do this. He simply wouldn't allow it.

Before Lyn could go any further, He-man said "I didn't think you'd be interested in your old life. You have me and Helen now."

"That's easy for you to say," she grumbled quietly. "You got your old life back and a new life. You got the best of both worlds. You don't have to choose."

He would not do this. He would not fight with her. He-man walked up behind his wife and slipped his strong arms around her slender waist, pulling her back against him. Lyn relaxed a little, leaning against her husband's broad back. She sighed as he bent his head down and planted a soft kiss on her neck.

"Does it really bother you that much?" he asked gently, continuing to kiss her.

"No," she muttered, wanting him to continue. The truth was, it did bother her. She'd always felt irreplaceable. But now she was beginning to feel as if she were just another woman, just another wife. He-man's arms began to caress her. She decided that she would do her best to push Calista from her mind. But she had a feeling that it wouldn't be easy. As He-man stroked her stomach, she wondered (for the millionth time), if she should tell him about the pregnancy. Three months gone now, but there was no sign of a bump.

_Not tonight, not yet._ She decided. She didn't want her feelings on this subject to be swayed by her husband's tender touch. He spun her round then, so she was facing him. Then he kissed her fully and passionately.

"I love you." He told her.

_I will tell him, just not yet. All in good time._ She told herself, as he led her to their bed.

* * *

That night, He-man dreamt of Tri-Klops for the second time in his life. He had not dreamt of the tech for so many years. Not since that night in Snake Mountain when Tri-Klops had told him to look to Lyn. That was so long ago- it felt as though it had happened in another lifetime. He-man was asleep, cuddled up to his sleeping wife, when he suddenly saw Tri-Klops sitting in a nearby chair. The shock of it caused He-man to sit bolt upright.

"Tri-Klops! I thought…"

"You thought I'd gone for good. But tell me, He-man, where do the dead go? Even I don't know." The deceased tech was smirking, and then he added, "I can't go anywhere yet. My work with you isn't done. You got it partially right when you married Lyn- you saved her from a terrible fate. But now it's all getting messed up again, isn't it?"

He-man shook his head. "It's getting sorted out. I'm back at the palace now. I'm feeling better- I'm fulfilled and happy!"

Tri-Klops shook his head. "Are you really happy, He-man?"

An image flashed into He-man's mind of his turbulent marriage. Evil-lyn. Lyn his wife. 'Lovely Lynny'. She was up one minute, down the next. He never knew where he stood. Was he happy?

"You're not paying enough attention to your wife." Tri-Klops told him.

"Of course I am." He-man replied gravely, thinking of what had just happened between him and Lyn, and the very fact that he had been holding the sleeping woman in his arms prior to this conversation. As if to prove his point, He-man reached out and rested a hand on Lyn's hip, her skin felt warm and soft. She did not stir.

"I know what you're thinking, He-man," Tri-Klops said. "But kisses and caresses aren't enough. On your wedding day, you promised to give yourself completely, and you haven't. Look around you- your loyalties are still divided and you need to choose. But I cannot tell you which path to take."

He-man cast his eyes around his palace room, and then looked at his sleeping wife once more. When he fixed his eyes on the chair, Tri-Klops had vanished. The dream was over.

The next day, He-man spent many hours running Tri-Klops's words round and round in his head, until they became meaningless babble. He tried his hardest to pull them into focus, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not make sense of them.

* * *

A week passed, and then another, and then another. A kind of peace had settled on the inhabitants of the palace and Lyn was nearly four months pregnant, although she was barely showing at all. She knew she had to tell her husband. The slight swell of her stomach was only going to grow larger, but she had not found the right moment. He was always so busy with training, and when she did have him to herself, she always swore she would do it 'later'. But she knew time was running out- soon, she would be too large to hide it. Then He-man would want to know why she hadn't told him sooner. There would be more questions than answers.

As she walked along to fetch Helen from the nursery, she began to mull things over in her mind. She put Helen there most days now. She had never meant to become 'one of those rich women' who just dropped her babe off at the child-minder every chance she got, but she had noticed the benefits of it. Helen had made some nice little friends, and even though there was still a general distrust of Lyn in the palace, she was now on speaking terms with the parents of these children. They had yet to ask her to socialise, but they did go out of their way to greet Lyn when they saw her, so they were at least making an effort. Helen was becoming more verbose and sociable- she really seemed to be blossoming. Lyn also found a confidante of sorts in the nursemaid, Christina. They were not exactly friends, but Lyn sensed that perhaps, they somehow could be one day.

Christina was completely disarming in her charm. In that way, she reminded Lyn of Marlena. So that day, when Lyn finally decided to open up about her pregnancy, it was no surprise that she told Christina first. She desperately needed to confide in someone and seek advice on how to tell her husband, and her allies in the palace were still few.

"I'm pregnant." It was the first thing Lyn said, seconds after Christina had greeted her and Helen had run off to play with her friends. The younger woman eyed Lyn's stomach, as she reached a hand up to try and press her wild curls back into her hat- a permanently unsuccessful habit.

"You don't look it- you can't be far along." Christina intoned in her broad accent.

"I'm four months. I've known for about two months, but I haven't told my husband yet. Please… …don't say anything to anyone." Lyn lowered her eyes. She had wanted to confide in Christina, but now she wondered if she'd over-estimated their friendship, as the younger woman remained speechless.

Finally, Christina spoke.

"Why haven't you told him?" she asked softly. Christina, like everyone else in the palace, knew He-man to be a good man. A family man. He would think this wonderful news. Lyn tried to put her feelings into words.

"I need him to choose me," she said finally. "Not just for the baby. I need to know that he really wants to be with me. Otherwise, I don't know what's going to happen to us."

There was a silence for a few moments, and then Christina spoke in her smooth tones. "Lyn, you need to let go of this fear. He-man has chosen you- he's married to you. He's chosen you for the last four years. He obviously loves you, and he has a right to know that you're carrying his child."

As always, Christina was the voice of reason. Lyn nodded slowly. She knew the younger woman was right. She needed to be honest. She needed to start taking more responsibility in her life. She decided that she would tell He-man as soon as she saw him.

For the rest of the day, she wondered how to tell He-man the news. He would want to know why she hadn't mentioned it before. Would he be angry or sad that she hadn't? Or would he just be overjoyed? At least she had the satisfaction of knowing that her husband's attention would be fully focused on her, and not on anyone else for a while- least of all Teela, who was increasingly calling on He-man to spar with her nowadays- a fact that irked Lyn to no end.

To Lyn's disappointment, He-man did not come home until the early hours of the morning. He had been fighting in a gruelling battle with Count Marzo. Lyn was asleep by the time he flopped down next to her, eager for the comfort of the mattress. Once He-man was asleep, he slept solidly for the next eight hours.

When he awoke in the morning, he saw that Lyn was sitting on the edge of the bed in a dark-blue gown, staring at him with a look that was soft and tender- the sort of look he didn't see from her often enough.

"Good morning," he said with a drowsy smile.

"Good morning," she replied sweetly, leaning down to kiss him on the lips. "I have some news for you."

"Oh?" he sat up. "Well, as it happens. I have news for you."

She looked at him demurely. "You first then…" she said.

He-man smiled. "My news is- I'm going on a mission. I only found out about it last night. I wanted to tell you right away, because I need to leave today, but you were already asleep by the time I got in."

"A mission?" she repeated, wide-eyed.

"That's right. Man-at-Arms is sending Teela and me to Tox'sha Village in the South to negotiate peace with the leader there. It's a bit of a journey- hopefully, we should only be gone about three days."

_Only? Only three days?_ Lyn thought to herself.

She narrowed her eyes. "I see, who else is going?"

"No-one," He-man said casually. "Man-at-Arms didn't think we needed a lot of manpower, so it'll just be me and Teela.

Lyn silently looked down at the floor. Just him and Teela? Him and Teela, alone, together, for three days. Suddenly, for the first time in what felt like an age, she spoke up.

"I can't let you do this."

He smiled, not thinking she was serious. "What, go on mission?"

"No, go on mission with Teela," Lyn looked right at him. It was time for them both to face the truth of the situation. "He-man, I know you want to believe the best about everyone- especially your old friends, but Teela wants you. She wants to be with you, romantically."

He-man was shaking his head, disbelieving, so Lyn continued. "I see the way she looks at you. She wants to be with you. She wants me out of the way so she can have her chance, and this is her opportunity."

He-man looked annoyed.

"You don't always have to believe the worst about Teela. You don't have to be so suspicious!" he told his wife firmly.

"And you don't have to be so naïve and trusting," she shot back, annoyed that he was defending the 'other woman'. Why did she always have to be in the wrong? Just because she wasn't as perfect as his precious 'Masters'.

He-man got out of bed and started to get dressed. Lyn watched him, but his back was to her. He would not look at her.

"You're wrong." He told her finally. "You're wrong about Teela."

Turning, he looked at her, and she saw the pain in his eyes. He wanted this marriage to work- they both did. When Lyn spoke, she tried to keep her voice soft.

"Don't do this, He-man. Don't go on this mission." She reached out a hand to him, but he turned from her, torn.

"Eternia needs me."

"I need you."

"Don't make me choose." He told her softly. But Lyn knew the truth. He had already chosen. He was going on this mission.

* * *

She was frosty with him while he packed. He spent a long time saying goodbye to his daughter, but Lyn did not kiss him goodbye. He had to settle for planting a kiss on her cheek. After Lyn had watched her husband take off into the sky with Teela, she quietly returned to her rooms and sat on the floor, unsure of her next move. Her husband had not chosen her. He was a hero- and he had put those duties first. Or maybe he had put Teela first. Maybe he always would. Suddenly, everything seemed clear in her mind.

_I can't do this anymore._ Lyn realised, and she went to the cupboards and started to pack a bag of clothes for herself and Helen. She scribbled a note to He-man, telling him that she couldn't stay in the palace anymore, but would contact him as soon as she was settled. Even if their marriage couldn't survive, she would not try to stop him seeing Helen or the new babe, but she couldn't be here anymore. She couldn't live with the daily worries and jealousy and confusion that threatened to consume her. She couldn't sit by and watch everything slowly crumbling before her.

With her bag packed, Lyn picked her sleeping daughter up, and then she quietly headed out of the palace. He-man could return full of apologies or kindness, but it didn't matter- she wouldn't be here when he got back.

_To be continued!_


	15. The Lady Vanishes

_This is the longest chapter so far, I think. It feels so good to be back- I have the next Chapter 16 written as well, so that should be uploaded this week, and I'm writing 17 this weekend! Thanks to everyone who's read/commented so far. 18 should be written in the next couple of weeks, so I should finish this story by the end of this month._

* * *

_NB: In this chapter, I debated the whole 'To make Lyn cry or not?' thing for quite a while- she doesn't seem the type to cry and I didn't want to 'weaken' the character, but I needed to show the angst (always with the angst!). Also, I figure Lyn's still human, hormonal, and has just been through a traumatic experience, so I decided to leave it in. Let me know what you think! I'm always open to constructive comments __ x_

* * *

Lyn's first thought was to return to her cottage. It took her almost two hours of walking to reach there- her feet were tired and aching, but she couldn't use magic for the journey… …not when she had a sleeping three-year-old in her arms. She had used her magic to make Helen and the bag she was carrying virtually weightless, and at least the walk gave her some time to gather her thoughts.

_I've left my husband!_ She thought. It didn't seem quite real to her. It felt as though she were living in a dream. After four years of marriage, she had left her husband! It was done- finished, complete.

As she arrived at her cottage, Lyn instantly regretted choosing a place so full of painful memories as her first port of call. She grimaced to herself as she entered the silent, dark house, where the faintest traces of happy memories of married life still lingered.

Yes, they had been happy here, hadn't they? She and her husband. As Lyn looked at the solid wooden dining table, she remembered how He-man would often reach across the table during dinner and hold her hand in his. She brushed her hand over its wooden surface lightly. She had told herself she would not cry, but she could not help it when a single tear trickled down her cheek. Her marriage was over.

She settled her sleeping daughter down on the chaise longue in the corner. She had been sitting in that exact seat when she had told He-man that she was expecting Helen. She remembered the way he'd smiled at her- shyly, with almost a sense of wonderment. A pure, genuine happiness. Her whole life, Lyn had never thought that she could make a man that happy. A pain shot right through her heart- a heart she hadn't even known she'd had until she'd married her husband. She fought the tears that threatened to come, blinking them back, breathing deeply. She sat down on the chaise longue next to her daughter, listening to the eerie silence that filled their former home.

People were always saying that love was so pure, so strong- that it could defeat any obstacle and last a lifetime, but as Lyn focused on the almost physical torment of her emotions, she was amazed at how love could be so tainted and twisted by other emotions- like jealousy and pain. She wondered if and when He-man would seek her out- he might want to be with Teela now, but he would surely want to see Helen and the baby? He had always been a good father.

As Lyn looked down at her sleeping daughter, she felt so very sorry. She was sorry that she couldn't fight the inevitable anymore. She was sorry that her marriage seemed broken beyond repair. As she rested her hand on the slight swell of her stomach, she felt sorry for the four-month old life within. She was sorry that she couldn't bring this babe into a better world. Lyn wanted to be angry at Teela- she wanted to believe that that damned harpy had turned her husband's head, and a part of her _was_ furious. But she wasn't as irritated as she thought she'd be. Perhaps she'd always known this day was coming? Perhaps Teela and the other Masters had only brought about the inevitable. Could a match between He-man and Evil-Lyn have realistically worked for anything more than a couple of years? She didn't know. One thing was certain though- she couldn't stay here.

The cottage was too full of painful memories. It might be years before she moved past what had happened, and this place wouldn't help. No, she would not stay here. She would go to her father's home in the Zalesian desert until she figured out her next move.

Lyn picked up her sleeping daughter and her bag and headed out of her once-beloved cottage. For the second time that day, she chose to vanish.

* * *

The Faceless One was reading one of his archaic, battered spell books when he felt his home beginning to shift beneath his feet. He knew what that meant. Someone had found the way in, and the giant ram's skull at the front of his home was now rising to the surface level of the sandy, surrounding desert, allowing access to whoever it was. He sensed the presence was benign, and realised that it was probably his daughter- Lyn.

He'd seen her several times a year since she left the side of evil. He had been delighted by the reformation of her ways, her marriage to He-man and of course, by the birth of his grandchild- Helen. His only complaint about Lyn now was that he wished she and her family would come and see him more, but he knew they were busy. He hadn't seen her since her move to the palace, but she had written to him about it, and he had noted the dissatisfied tone in her letter.

Even so, The Faceless One was shocked when his daughter walked into the parlour of her childhood home with a bag on one arm and her sleeping infant daughter in the other. Her face was shadowy- dark as the midnight-blue gown she was wearing.

"Lyn-" he began.

"I've left He-man!" she announced. There was a long silence, and she knew the question her father was wanting to ask. _Why?_

"My marriage has fallen apart." She said simply. "I need somewhere to stay for a while, just until I get things… …sorted."

Her father bade her sit down whilst he put Helen to bed and made her a strong cup of tea. At one time, it would've amused her to see her powerful, faceless father doing something as everyday and mundane as making tea- it seemed so out of place- like watching Skeletor knit a scarf or Zodak bake a cake. At the present time, however, she couldn't bring herself to laugh.

Instead, as her father poured out the tea, Lyn poured out her woes. She told her father all about moving to the palace and how ostracised she'd felt, especially by her husband, who was always running off to be with his friends and siding with them. She talked about his friendship with Teela and how he refused to see sense. She even told her father about the baby, and how she'd never found the words to tell her husband (knowing her father would disapprove, she did mention that she would never stop He-man from having access to the children). When she'd finished, her father quietly drank his tea.

"Don't you think you've been a bit hasty?" was all he asked. "Couldn't you have discussed this with your husband?"

"I tried to, but he always sides with his precious 'Masters'!" She shot back, instantly regretting her sharp tone. She lowered her eyes regretfully- the closest she would come to apologising. Her father accepted this and continued.

"I don't know if I agree with this- your leaving will devastate He-man, but even I can see that you need to get some things clear in your mind."

Lyn kept her gaze on the floor. "I don't know if He-man will be 'devastated' at my leaving… …relieved, maybe."

Her father sighed to signal his disagreement, but he could tell that this was not the right time to argue with her. Sensing how weary she was, he let her go off to her room to catch some much needed sleep. He sat up most of the night, but he could not focus on his spell books. He was too worried about his only child.

Lyn was relieved to escape into her childhood room, where Helen slept in a small cot in the corner. She looked at the beige walls all around her.

A memory- something to do with beige walls- bubbled up inside her. It happened a lot, but she always pushed that memory back down. She knew that whatever it was, it was unpleasant, and she was not willing to focus on it right now.

She collapsed onto her bed and wrapped her slender arms around the slight swell of her stomach. During her last pregnancy, He-man couldn't keep his hands off her bump. Would he ever touch this one? Or would he remain distant when he visited Helen? Would He-man ever touch her or kiss her again? If he did, would it merely be a polite, formal kiss on the cheek at family events, his arm casually swung around some new wife- possibly Teela? Finally, Lyn allowed the tears to come- tears that had been threatening to spill for hours, maybe even days, maybe even weeks- maybe even years. Eventually, sleep took over.

* * *

The next morning, Lyn awoke and dressed in a sky-blue gown. Then she went to find her father. He was in kitchen, taking care of a potted plant he'd had for years. During her evil days, Lyn had once shouted at him during an argument that the plant was his only friend. She felt a twinge of remorse at these words now, even though she knew he didn't hold it against her.

"I'm going out for a few hours." She said. "Is it alright if I leave Helen with you?"

"Out?" Her father queried. If he'd had a face, it would've looked concerned. She turned away so that he could not read the expression on _her_ face.

"I'm not going to see He-man. It's just- there's a question that I need to answer, and if I don't, it will haunt me for the rest of my life."

"Very well." Her father knew that determined tone in her voice. He would not try to stop her. Although he might have tried to if he'd known the truth of where she was going. She had to see what she'd left behind. She was going to Snake Mountain. She was going to see this 'Calista'… …and Skeletor.

* * *

"Lyn? Lyn!" Queen Marlena knocked on the door of Lyn and He-man's room and waited for an answer, but none came.

Before leaving yesterday, He-man had mentioned that his wife was 'in a mood' with him over the mission. So when Marlena hadn't seen Lyn or Helen all day, she'd assumed that the witch was simply sulking in her rooms. But this morning, neither Lyn nor child had appeared at breakfast, and the queen had decided to see what was happening. She'd knocked on Lyn's door several times now, but had received no answer. She tried jiggling the handle, but it was locked.

She pondered walking away- perhaps Lyn had simply gone out, but then she quickly changed her mind. Sometimes a grandmother's job _was_ to interfere! Heading to her own lavishly-decorated rooms, Marlena opened one of her bedside drawers and removed the small, silver skeleton key that she never used. Then she walked quickly back to Lyn and He-man's rooms and opened the door.

The room was empty. The bed was made. To all intents and purposes, it appeared that Lyn and Helen had simply gone out, but there was an 'emptiness' to the room that the queen disliked. Something was wrong here. It was then that she noticed the note on the table- the folded-over piece of paper that said 'He-man' on it, in Lyn's writing. With shaking hands, Queen Marlena unfolded the paper and read.

"_He-man;_

_I'm writing this note because I'm leaving, and I'm taking Helen with me. I know we have both tried hard to make this marriage work, but I cannot endure the daily struggle of it any longer. I hope you will be happy in the palace, but I cannot be. I will contact you once I am settled- I would never stop you seeing your daughter._

_Goodbye;_

_Lyn"_

Queen Marlena raised a hand to her mouth in shock. She had to do something- she had to stop this. Still clutching the paper, she raced down the corridor to Man-at-Arms workshop, running in a way that a queen was never meant to. When she saw Man-at-Arms, the expression on her face was so ghastly, that even he asked "What's wrong?"

"You have to contact He-man and call him back at once! Lyn has left him!" Marlena practically thrust the letter in Duncan's face. He took it and scanned its contents. When he finally lifted his eyes from the paper, he looked grave.

"I'll contact him at once." Was all he said.

* * *

Lyn stood at the base of the titanic, towering structure that was Snake Mountain- a place that had once been her home for so long. There was a time when she had felt so comfortable here. Now she just felt as though she didn't fit. She looked so wrong standing here- her snow-white skin and light-blue dress standing out in stark contrast to the vermillion tower with its crimson surroundings. She didn't look like an evil warrior. She looked like a country wife who'd taken a wrong turn.

_I suppose I look like what I am, _she mused. She knew she was being irresponsible, coming to such a dangerous place when she was pregnant and had a young child at home, but curiosity was eating away at her.

It was still very early in the morning. Lyn had picked this time because (assuming they hadn't changed), she knew most of her fellow warriors would still be asleep. Skeletor rarely planned early morning attacks, as he knew that his troops were not at their best at the crack of dawn. Taking a deep breath, Lyn steeled herself and went inside, taking one of the secret passages that only she knew about.

Her feet traced the dark corridors as they hadn't done in so many years, marking those once-familiar twists and turns. Soon, she arrived at the door to her bedroom. She placed a hand on the door and used her magic to detect life, but there didn't seem to be anyone inside, so she opened the door and slid into her old room. She then gasped audibly at what she'd found.

Her room was exactly the same. It was as untouched as it had been when she walked out four years ago. She opened one of the drawers and noticed that it was still full of the clothing she'd decided to leave behind when she'd made that moonlight flit. She briefly considered using her magic to transport the clothes to her father's home, but changed her mind. She hadn't needed these things in the last four years, why should she need them now?

She did hesitate when she saw her magic staff propped up in the corner next to her bed, exactly where she'd left it. The staff had been her hardest decision. It had been given to her by her father on her sixteenth birthday- it had once belonged to her late mother. She had agonised over whether to take it with her when she fled, but in the end she'd decided against it. She'd caused too much pain with it- it would've forever been a reminder of all the evil she'd done and was trying to leave behind her. Besides, it was rather cumbersome to carry and immediately recognisable- not the kind of thing one wanted when they were running away. Even so, she couldn't resist wandering over to it and carefully picking it up. Feeling just like her old self again, she smiled, then she quickly replaced it. She could not go back to that.

Lyn quietly left her old room and walked down the corridor. As she wandered past the rooms, she smelt cheap, overpowering perfume coming from one. Sensing there was no-one inside, she opened that door and glanced around quickly. She knew it must be Calista's room- it was obvious that a woman resided here, even though its décor was not what Lyn would've chosen. The room was a mess for a start- brightly coloured gowns and undergarments littered the floor and everything- including the bedspread- was made of cheap and garish material. Sighing and shaking her head, she closed the door and continued to walk down the corridor. She went to walk silently past the throne room, but stopped when she heard two voices conversing inside- a man's and a woman's. She couldn't resist listening.

The man's was undoubtedly Skeletor's. She knew those biting, rich tones like she knew her own voice. The woman's sounded hard to her ears- a little common and strong. It made Lyn think of cheap taverns and horses' hooves clopping noisily on the floor. The woman broke off abruptly.

"There's someone here!" She snarled. Lyn would've detected an intruder long before this motley witch. She felt the familiar sensation of Skeletor's magic on her skin as glowing yellow vines (undoubtedly from his Havoc staff) , burst through the doors of the throne room and wrapped around her. She was being pulled into the throne room, but she did not fight it. She would be a fool to try and fight in her 'delicate' condition. She began to see that she'd been a fool to come here in the first place. What would she do now? She had wanted to find out how much things had changed since her absence. She had wanted to find out if Skeletor really had replaced her- was she so expendable? But now she saw that this was a place for warriors, not wives- what had she been thinking?

"Evil-Lyn?" Skeletor asked, in a bewildered yet oddly triumphant tone. He looked the same, but then, one with a skull face did not really need to be concerned with the aging process. Lyn cast her gaze away from where he sat on his throne. She looked instead at Calista, who was standing at the foot of it.

Calista was younger than Lyn- probably in her late twenties or early thirties, but she was not nearly half as pretty. She was a tall, rangy sort of woman who was (as Lyn's aunt would've unkindly put it) "as flat up and down as an ironing board". The black leather dress she wore was not flattering- it only served to emphasise the lack of curves, robbing her of any softness. It looked cheap too. _She _looked cheap. Calista had short black hair cut to her chin in a ragged, messy style and mean coal-black eyes. She could've been attractive but for one thing- she lacked any elegance, any 'finesse'. There was hardness about her. Rather than looking evil yet dignified (as Lyn had in her heyday), Calista looked like the sort of woman who would brawl in taverns and knife someone in a back alleyway. Lyn sensed that she was not nearly as powerful as either herself or Skeletor.

For a moment, Lyn wondered how Skeletor put up with such an unrefined person. Then she reminded herself that he also put up with the likes of Stinkor and Beastman. She also reminded herself that it was no longer her concern, though she couldn't deny that a part of her felt relieved that Calista was no match for her.

"Calista- get out! Now!" Skeletor said in a low, even tone. The younger woman glared at Lyn for a moment, then stalked to the exit and left. She obviously knew who Evil-Lyn was, and she obviously did not like competition. Lyn briefly wondered if Skeletor was embarrassed by the unimpressive replacement he'd chosen for his finest warrior, but then, so few were Lyn's equal.

"Evil-Lyn." Skeletor drawled once again, now they were alone together. "To what do I owe this 'unexpected' pleasure? Have you come to ask for your job back?"

His voice revealed no emotion, but he could fly into a rage at the slightest thing, and Lyn guessed that he probably wasn't too pleased with her. Keeping her voice calm (and a little meek, to imply that she was deferring to him), she asked the one thing that was on her mind.

"What would you say if I said 'yes'?"

"What would I say? WHAT WOULD I SAY?" His voice rose then with unrestrained anger. He levelled his staff at her and she flinched, but he did not fire. Instead, he continued his verbal rampage.

"You disappeared one night with not a word of apology or explanation. You- and I know it _was_ you- sprung He-man from his cell as well. You stay away for four years, and then you just waltz back into _my _throne room and ask me for your job back?"

He was fuming now, ranting and raving, but Lyn noticed that he had not struck her, and she felt she knew why. He did not want her to leave again- his forces had suffered her loss badly. Now that she was not his second-in-command, battles were more of a struggle for him than ever. Even now as he ranted, Lyn sensed that when he was finished being angry, he would take her back. He might even get rid of Calista, if she asked him. Then he said something that shocked her.

"I searched for you, you know! For days, weeks, months, even years! Eventually, I had to accept that you didn't want to be found. You meant to disappear."

In that moment, reality bucketed over Lyn like icy water. She understood now. She understood why Skeletor had ordered her room to remain untouched, why he had never let Calista move in there, why he had left her things 'just so'. He still hoped Lyn would come back. Despite his fury, he still hoped that Evil-Lyn would walk back through those doors and reclaim her place at his side. She would find her things untouched, and everything would go back to normal. Skeletor was not a being who inspired sympathy, but even so, Lyn felt a little touched at this revelation, but then an image of her daughter waiting for her at her father's home spiralled into her mind.

_What am I doing here? _Lyn suddenly thought. _I have a daughter waiting at home and a child within me. This is not who I am anymore… …I need to accept that._

Hard as it was, Lyn used her own magic to break the bonds that held her, and forced herself to face her former leader.

"I didn't come here to ask for my job back." She said evenly. "I came here to find out the truth."

He leaned forward in his throne. "And what is the truth?"

"I came here to see if you'd replaced me." She replied honestly. "I spent so much of my life here, I needed to see if I was so easily replaceable.

"Of course not." He snarled. "Calista's not a patch on you. Why else would I let you come back?"

"I can't come back- I had a baby."

She watched as he absorbed this information slowly, and then he spoke, sounding bitter and angry. "Is _that _why you left?"

She nodded. It was not true of course. She had become pregnant with Helen after she left, but Skeletor did not need to know that. It was easier this way. Leaving because of a pregnancy was something he could understand. He might not like it, but he would understand it. He would never understand her true reasons. They would never be enough for him.

"Why did you release He-man?"

"He-man was the one who convinced me to leave." She replied- that part was true, in a way.

Skeletor was less concerned with the loss of He-man than Lyn had thought he would be, but then, he'd had four years to come to terms with it. Besides, He-man had been broken when he'd come to Snake Mountain for atonement- in Skeletor's eyes, what fun was there in destroying an enemy who was already broken and hoping for death? Skeletor liked to be the one doing the breaking- he'd felt a little cheated of his victory when He-man had willingly turned up in Snake Mountain, not caring what happened to him.

Skeletor spoke thoughtfully then.

"I always thought you were so ambitious, Evil-Lyn. We could've ruled Eternia together. I never realised you were just another airheaded breeder."

That stung, but she let it go. She had to let him get a few insults in- it was his way of making himself feel superior. Rather than sounding angry, he spoke as though she were simply a big disappointment to him. Which she was in way, she supposed.

He gestured to the throne room door. "Get out! Get out of my sight, before I change my mind and destroy you on the spot."

He was letting her go. Perhaps he knew it was pointless- they could not go back now. Perhaps he couldn't be bothered to waste his time or energy on someone like her. Lyn hurried to the door, not daring to glance back at him. As she slipped through the corridors, she heard him calling to Calista- her poor excuse for a replacement. Deep inside, Lyn knew that Skeletor would never get Grayskull now. The worst part was, she sensed that on some level, he knew it too. But he was unable to give up. It was not in him.

Lyn left Snake Mountain as quickly as she could, hurrying back to her father's home. She knew that Evil-Lyn was fully gone- her old life was well and truly over. But where would she go now? As she raced back to the ruins of Zalesia, Lyn pondered her next move.


	16. Worth the Cost

Teela easily manoeuvred her Sky Sled through the clear, blue sky. She felt an unprecedented burst of joy to be soaring through the cool air with He-man on his own sled beside her. The bright morning sun was glinting off their silvery vehicles, and she felt more at peace than she had in a long time. This was it- what she had wanted for so long- to be with He-man, away from his wife, and the palace and even the other Masters. So they could just be friends spending time together, just the two of them- like they used to be before he left.

"Wanna race?" She called out to him, unable to hide her glee when he nodded. The two of them twisted their vehicles through trees and darted under rocky overhangs. They were neck-and-neck for a while, but Teela eventually pulled forward by a few inches, making it to their landing spot outside Tox'sha village a few seconds before he did.

As He-man landed beside her, she flashed him a brilliantly triumphant smile. "I win."

"Some things never change!" he muttered, but he was smiling too.

She ran a hand through her auburn hair as they two of them surveyed Tox'sha village. It was a powerful little place with a thriving community. In its early days, many Eternians had underestimated the Tox'shan people, believing them primitive and simple-minded as they lived in tents (a practise they still continued). In reality, the Tox'shans were a fierce, fighting people with a well-organised army. They had caused pain to many invaders who thought that the tent-dwelling folk would be easy prey. They had isolated themselves for a long time, but the Tox'shan leader, Selerius, had recently made the acquaintance of King Randor, and had been so impressed that he'd become eager to throw off his isolation (and that of his people) and usher in a peaceful alliance- that was what Teela and He-man were here to negotiate.

As He-man and Teela walked up to the village- which resembled a large, open field full of tents (and a few market stalls), they noticed that the people seemed happy and contented, which was always a good sign. Old people sat on low, woven chairs outside their tents, talking and reminiscing joyfully together. Children scampered around merrily, chasing one another. He-man thought of his own little daughter and his wife at the palace, and missed them already.

A young woman emerged from one of the larger tents and came over to greet them. She was an attractive young lady with the peachy skin, golden hair and clear, silvery eyes that all Tox'shans had. She held out a hand to them and spoke in a musical voice.

"I am Mari, daughter of Lord Selerius. You must be He-man and Teela. I'm so pleased to meet you both and to welcome you to Tox'sha."

Greetings were exchanged, and Teela and He-man were lead into Selerius's tent. The leader of Tox'sha was an extremely tall man with a great golden beard, who turned out to be surprisingly jovial. Given that the Tox'shans were noted for their isolation, Teela and He-man had both expected someone far more reserved than this happy and charming man, who told many humorous jokes and anecdotes.

Soon they were all seated around a low table in Selerius's tent, discussing the terms of the new peace treaty- a discussion that was constantly being peppered with witticisms from the leader, and laughter from Teela and He-man.

They enjoyed themselves for a time, although Teela stopped laughing rather abruptly when Selerius said, "Well, this peace treaty has all been hashed out rather quickly. I don't think you'll need to stay the full three days. You could probably leave today if you need to. Although, you are welcome to stay a bit longer if you like?"

_Leave today? _Teela thought, suddenly alarmed. She didn't want her time with He-man to be over so quickly. They'd barely spent any time together yet! She hadn't gotten to speak to him about anything. No, she had to try and delay their stay here a little longer, at least.

"Well," He-man was saying. "I should probably get back to my family."

"Wait-" Teela interjected hastily. "We can't just go. I mean, this is an incredible opportunity- we're the first people being welcomed into this village in an age. It's such an honour- we should at least stay one night. We don't even know anything about Tox'sha culture yet!"

He-man hesitated for a few seconds and Teela waited, trying not to get her hopes up. Finally, he said, "I guess staying one night couldn't hurt."

Teela thought her heart might burst from joy.

* * *

For the next few hours, He-man and Teela were inseparable. They toured the village together, they ate lunch together, they even visited the Tox'sha's sacred Me'teri Pool together- a deep quiet pond at the edge of the village where people went to ask blessings and pray. As they talked together, Teela felt He-man visibly relax. He never seemed that relaxed at the palace. He always seemed on edge- worried that he might upset his changeable wife in some way. Had the entire last four years been that way for him? Teela wondered. Or was it a recent thing that had started when they'd moved to the palace?

Either way, it was nice to see the golden hero unwind for a little while. They chatted freely and easily- none of the stilted silences and uncertainty that he had in his conversations with Lyn.

_Can't he see it? _Teela thought, suddenly. _Can't He-man see that he and I would be a much better couple than he and Lyn? This easiness, this freedom- can't he see that it could be like that all the time… …if he were with me?_

She immediately felt terrible, shocked at the dishonourable nature of her thoughts. She tried to shake them away, but they persisted. She would ignore them as best she could. She could never be with He-man now. Even if he did want her (and she wasn't sure he did)… …it would mean the breakdown of his marriage, his child being fatherless or in a broken home. It would be a cost too great.

Teela brushed the thoughts aside then and tried to focus on the few glowing hours she had left in her best friend's company. She would not tell him how she felt. She would do the right thing, and she would deal with the regrets later.

A few hours later, evening was drawing in and Teela and He-man were sitting with all the other villagers in a large circle around a roaring fire. Selerius was entertaining them all by singing an old battle song in rich, luxuriant tones.

Teela watched He-man in the flickering light of the fire, noticing the way the flames seemed to intensify his good looks- the amber and golden lights made his eyes appear even bluer. He was sitting right next to her, but he was not looking at her- his attention was focused on the battle song. She wondered if he was remembering days gone by.

As Selerius finished, one of the village men stood up to announce that he and some of the others were going to gather more firewood. He-man let Teela know he would be joining them.

_He always did like to feel useful, _Teela reflected, as she watched He-man stand and walk off with three other men, his broad back disappearing into the nearby woods. The empty seat on the log next to her did not stay empty for long. Selerius's daughter, Mari, came and sat beside her.

"You don't mind, do you?" Mari asked in those whimsical tones. "Your husband won't be back for a while."

"He-man's not my husband." Teela replied, with a little smile.

"Boyfriend?"

"Actually, He-man and I are just friends." Teela said, hoping she didn't sound regretful.

"Oh!" Mari gave her an apologetic look. "I hope you don't think me presumptuous- it's just that you and He-man seem to fit together rather well. You seem like a 'natural' couple."

Even though she knew it was wrong, Teela felt a flush of pleasure at these words. She pushed the feelings back down.

"We are just friends…" she repeated.

Mari smiled. "But you'd like to be more!

Teela was uncertain if this was a question or a statement. This was another reason why some people were uncertain around the Tox'shans- they were known for being a very perceptive people. As Teela looked at Mari, she felt the other woman's clear grey eyes could see into her very soul. She cast her own eyes away, blushing.

When Teela looked back over, Mari was still staring at her, waiting for an answer. Knowing the truth was obvious, Teela forced an answer out.

"Maybe I'd like to be more… …but He-man's married."

"Nothing like the love of a good woman…" Mari said thoughtfully.

"Well, I'm not sure He-man has that with his wife." Teela retorted. She instantly regretted the words- she'd been trying to make a jokey remark, but it had just sounded catty. Mari considered this.

"When I met my husband, he was engaged to someone else, but I knew they were wrong for each other." Mari said quietly. Teela was shocked that the woman seemed to be endorsing her forbidden feelings. Perhaps things like this were normal in the real world? Teela was quickly learning that the real world was not the way heroes wanted it to be- it was messy and complicated.

"I know it's wrong, but He-man and his wife just don't fit together." Teela confided. "You should see them- it's all silences and unspoken words."

"Do you think He-man feels the same about you as you do about him?"

Teela sighed. "I don't know. It doesn't make any difference either way. I can't tell him how I feel because it would be a lose-lose situation. If he doesn't feel the same, it could destroy our friendship. If he does feel the same, it could destroy his family. I don't want his daughter growing up in a broken home."

There was a silence for a few moments as the Tox'shan woman absorbed this information. Then her next words surprised Teela. "I still think you should tell him how you feel. It's affecting your friendship anyway- you can't be yourself around him right now. You're hiding your true feelings from him."

There was some truth in this, but Teela could not allow herself to be swayed so easily. Mari continued. "Even if his marriage did break up, you and he might be a much better, happier couple. Surely that would be better for his daughter than the current dysfunctional relationship? Besides, if they're really not suited, his wife might find a better match for herself too."

Teela had never considered this, but in truth, Lyn didn't really seem happy. She wondered if the witch would be better off in a marriage to someone who could truly understand her past- the darkness in her soul. That was something He-man was not capable of, because he was pure goodness. Maybe Teela was doing them both a disservice by not being honest. Mari leaned forward and whispered to her.

"You need to consider everything carefully. Think of the pain you'll feel if he rejects you, will it be worse than the pain of never knowing how he feels?

_Perhaps not, _Teela thought. Mari continued.

"And if he does feel the same, there will be a 'fallout' for a while. You need to imagine yourself being with He-man- the two of you loving each other- then you need to think of the pain you're going to cause his family, and the difficulty you'd have to endure. You have to decide… …is He-man worth it?"

Teela glanced over into the forest, where the men were just beginning to re-emerge. He-man was leading them, and her heart leapt when she saw his magnificent form. She'd let him go too easily the first time- she could not do that again. He was worth the risk. She would have to tell him how she felt, rather than live with the pain of never knowing.

Teela turned to Mari and spoke the truth. "He-man is worth all he costs me."

* * *

That night, Teela slept fitfully in her tent. She kept replaying the conversation from earlier round and round in her head. By morning, she had her words ready. She was going to tell He-man exactly how she felt. Rather than fear, she felt only excitement. She had waited too long for this moment.

Although dawn was only just breaking, Teela found that He-man's tent was already empty. Searching the village for him, she eventually found him sitting alone at the sacred pool. He was sitting on a log and staring meditatively into the calm water. She quietly sat down beside him.

"Teela," he beamed at her in greeting. She smiled back, but did not let herself get derailed from her mission- there was a reason she'd come out here.

"He-man," she said, keeping her voice soft. "We need to talk. There's something I need to tell you, and if I don't, it's going to eat away at me forever."

He looked a little surprised, but waited whilst she tried to get the words clear in her mind. This was one of the most important moments of her young life. It had to sound right.

Finally, she spoke.

"Before you left all those years ago, I liked you… …and I don't just mean as friends. I hoped you and I would become a couple."

He-man looked at her, but did not speak. She could not read his calm expression, so she continued.

"I was devastated when you left. If I'd been able to process everything properly, I would've stopped you. Even now, there are times when I think that I'd give anything to turn the clock back and stop you walking out those palace doors… ...but I didn't."

She swivelled her body round, turning to look him in the face. "I tried to put your loss behind me. I thought I'd moved on, but when I saw you again after all these years, I realised I hadn't. My feelings were still there. If anything, your absence had only made them stronger. I love you, He-man."

She glanced back at the floor quickly as she uttered these last words. She heard his sharp intake of breath, but she could not stop. "I don't want to hurt your family, but I need to be honest, He-man. I love you, and I want to be with you."

The words hung in the air between them for several minutes as He-man digested this. His wife had been right- Teela _did _want to be more than friends. He turned to face the young woman beside him, catching the hopeful glint in her brilliant green eyes.

"Teela," he said softly, taking her hands in his. "Teela, you are one of my dearest friends, and I'm so glad you were honest with me, but I don't feel the same. I admit I had feelings for you before I left, but mine _have_ faded over time. I love my wife."

"Really?" Teela looked him right in the eyes then, but there was no trace of dishonesty there.

He-man sighed. "No-one seems to believe it, least of all Lyn herself, but I really do love my wife. She's the one I chose. She's the woman I want to be with forever."

Teela nodded her understanding, feeling surprisingly relieved. She had been truthful, and even though he did not want her, it finally felt as though a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

"I can bear that." She told him finally. "I can bear rejection, and I think I could've even born being the cause of a marriage breakdown. What I couldn't bear was the uncertainty- not knowing day after day."

"I understand." He clasped her hands in his still. "So, we're friends?"

She nodded. "Of course- best friends. Thank you for letting me be honest with you."

He was smiling again, and she found herself smiling too. Yes, it would be difficult, but she had closure now. She could move past this.

He-man was standing now. He offered her his hand once more and when she accepted, he pulled her to her feet.

"Let's start again." He told her. "A new friendship."

She liked the sound of that. As he led her back to the village, she noticed that she felt much freer than she had for many years. She had her answer now, and she could finally move on.

* * *

As they reached their tents, they heard the sound of He-man's communicator buzzing- undoubtedly one of the Masters was trying to get in touch with him. He-man reached into his tent and pulled out the round, golden device. He held it to his ear.

"Hello," He-man said, then he smiled at Teela.

"It's your father." He whispered to her.

As He-man listened to the voice on the other end, his face suddenly changed. His jaw dropped and he turned quite grey.

"What?" He croaked into the device. Teela hovered nearby, worrying. Her heart was fluttering- she could tell it was bad news. Had Skeletor attacked the palace?

"No- no! This can't be happening!" He-man was saying, looking grave. He listened for a few more minutes and then said, "We'll come back to the palace right away!"

He pressed a button on the communicator then, ending the call. He turned to Teela with a dark look on his face.

"What is it?" She hardly dared ask him, but knew she had to. "What's wrong?"

"My wife is missing." He-man told her. His hands were trembling. "Lyn's gone missing."

Teela's own hands flew to her mouth. "Elders help us! Has someone taken her?"

A fleeting image of Skeletor kidnapping Lyn flew into Teela's mind, but He-man was shaking his head.

"You don't understand, Teela. Lyn's gone of her own accord. She's left and taken Helen with her." He paused for a moment to try and process it himself. "My wife has left me."

Teela listened as He-man poured out all he'd learnt from the brief conversation with Man-at-Arms. Marlena had gone to Lyn and He-man's room and found wife and child gone, and a note on the table. He-man described the contents of the note as they had been described to him. He even mentioned how Man-at-Arms had double-checked the security footage and found a film of Lyn leaving, carrying her daughter and her bag. Teela was shocked- it was what she'd thought she wanted, but instead of joy, she only felt grief for her friend.

He-man sank down to his knees before her, burying his face in his hands.

"I have to find her." He kept saying, over and over again. "I have to find her!"

Teela knelt down beside him. This was what it meant to be real friends. It meant putting another's needs ahead of your own wants. Teela looked He-man in the eyes then, and made a solemn promise to him, and to herself.

"We will find her, He-man. We will find your wife, and we will bring her back!"


	17. Harsh Truths

Teela and He-man raced back to the palace at breakneck speed. This time, Teela did not notice the sunlight glinting off the silvery vehicles, or the cloudless blue sky. She only noticed that He-man did not speak a word, and that his hands were gripping the handles of his Sky Sled so tightly, his knuckles had turned white.

As soon as they landed at the palace, they raced down the corridors on foot, neck-and-neck for a while. It would've been like the fun race they'd had on their sleds earlier, were it not for the grim expressions on their faces adding a serious weight to the atmosphere.

The pair burst into Man-at-Arms' workshop, where Teela was touched to see that every single Master had gathered. All the heroic warriors were diligently working together to try and find He-Man's vanished wife. Even though most of them had never liked Lyn, they were rallying for the sake of He-man- their dear friend. Ram-man, Stratos and Sy-Klone were all talking on separate communicators- speaking to contacts they had in the Dark Hemisphere and enquiring about sightings or rumours of Lyn. Buzz-Off and Ram-Man were studying maps of possible locations. Man-e-Faces and Mek-a-Nek were sitting at a nearby table, interviewing two guards who'd been on duty the night Lyn disappeared.

King Randor and Queen Marlena were there too, watching the security footage of Lyn leaving over and over again, as if they might spot something different. Even Orko was helping by bringing glasses of water for the hardworking heroes, and fetching maps or whatever else they needed.

As soon as He-man arrived, he was bundled into a chair, where Man-at-Arms assessed him for signs of shock.

_Of course he's shocked! _Teela thought, frustrated. _He's just had something __**shocking **__happen to him._

They all rallied round He-man then. Those who were talking on communicators ended their conversations a little abruptly and one-by-one, they gathered round their devastated friend, patting him on the shoulder and telling him it would be alright. King Randor even put an arm around his son's shoulders as he hadn't done in years. Queen Marlena put her hand on her son's other arm and vacillated between soothingly whispering, "I'm so sorry, He-man" and then determinedly saying, "We will find her though."

As He-man tried to absorb what was happening and offer help in some way, there was a faint knock at the door and Man-e-faces went to answer it. They heard him conversing with a woman for a few moments, and then he led her inside.

"This is Nursemaid Christina." Man-e-faces announced, gesturing to a woman at his side- a youngish, prettyish girl with wild brown curls. "She thinks she may have been the last person to see Lyn… …other than He-man. We did an appeal for information around the palace, He-man, a lot of people came forward to try and help."

He-man lifted his gaze from the floor- he did recognise Christina. He remembered seeing her talking to his wife on a few occasions. Lyn mentioned her sometimes- they were almost like friends. Could she know something?

"Christina." He-man breathed, whispering her name like a prayer, pinning his desperate hopes on her.

"I spoke to Lyn the night before last- the night before she left. I think she went straight to her rooms after that, and she left the next morning without speaking to anyone." The younger woman intoned. "I thought I should come forward, but I don't know I'll be much help. I never imagined she would run away! I mean, obviously Lyn was hormonal, but I didn't think she'd actually leave…"

He-man's eyes locked on Christina's.

"What do you mean 'obviously Lyn was hormonal'?" He asked.

Christina's jaw dropped.

"You mean- you don't know? She really didn't tell you?" the woman asked.

"Tell me what?" He-man had the strangest sensation of losing control, of things slipping from his grasp.

"Lyn is pregnant." Christina said simply.

It was He-man's turn to let his jaw drop.

"What?" He croaked, never breaking eye contact with the woman. All the other Masters and the king and queen were staring too. "How pregnant is she?"

"Four months." Christina replied. "She's known about it for two months, but she didn't know how to tell you. She only told me the last time I spoke to her. She said she was going to tell you then… …but I guess she didn't."

"No." He-man replied in a rather short tone, narrowing his eyes. "She didn't."

"That's all I have to tell you. Sorry I can't be of more help." Christina said. Turning to go, she added, "Lyn said that the reason she hadn't told you about her pregnancy was because she needed you to 'choose her'. She wanted you to really want her- not just for the baby, but for Lyn herself."

He-man stared at Christina, astonished. Sensing that the hero needed a few moments alone with his friends, the nursemaid decided to beat a hasty retreat from Man-at-Arms' workshop, closing the door softly as she went.

He-man walked over to one of the tables, where a map was carefully laid out. With one swipe of his large hand, he angrily knocked the map to the floor. None of the Masters tried to stop him. They just let him do what he needed to.

"How could she?" He-man was almost shouting now, sounding equal mixtures sad and angry. The Masters had rarely seen him in such a passion, but this was understandable. "How could she live with me for the last two months, talk with me every day, share my bed every night, raise my daughter, and _not _tell me she was carrying my child?"

He turned to the Masters, not trying to hide the grief in his eyes. "Every day she lived with that knowledge. Every day, she chose not to tell me. And why? Because she wanted me to '_choose her'. _What does that even mean?"

There was no stopping him now- it was all pouring out of him. "Of course I chose her. I married her, didn't I? What more does she need? How much more decisive can I be? If the wedding band on her finger isn't a symbol of me choosing her, then what is?"

Suddenly, an image flashed into He-man's mind. It was of the dream he'd had a few weeks before Lyn left- the dream with Tri-Klops in it. He remembered Tri-Klops's words to him regarding his marriage.

"_On your wedding day, you promised to give yourself completely, and you haven't. Look around you- your loyalties are still divided and you need to choose. But I cannot tell you which path to take."_

_Were my loyalties really so divided? _He-man wondered to himself in that moment. He had always thought himself a good husband.

Then he remembered the events of yesterday morning, when he'd left for the mission. Lyn hadn't been happy that he was going. She hadn't wanted him to leave.

"Eternia needs me." He'd told her.

"I need you." She'd replied.

But he'd turned away, pretending he didn't notice her hand outstretched to him, the slight note of desperation creeping into her voice. He _had _left her, and gone on his mission. He'd put her in second place- at the back of his mind.

As He-man remembered this, an enormous stab of guilt overwhelmed him. He sank down into a chair and buried his head in his hands. The Masters quietly watched him, and then Orko floated over.

"Are you really mad at Lyn?" The Jester asked earnestly.

He-man looked up at his old friend and answered honestly. "Yes- I am mad at her. I'm mad that she's carried this life inside of her for so long and not told me. But I'm mad at myself too- I dragged her to the palace, ignored her objections, didn't listen to her… …made her feel isolated. I didn't put her first, like I promised too."

"She must have felt so alone." The Queen remarked, sadly shaking her head. "In an unfamiliar place, surrounded by former enemies, pregnant and with no friends."

He-man nodded slowly, and then said, "Lyn and I have both made mistakes in this marriage, but if I find her, I can make it right!"

Man-at-Arms's communicator buzzed then, and he went to answer it, talking softly to whoever was on the other end. After a few moments, he returned with a strange look on his face.

"That was The Faceless One who just contacted me!" He announced to his fellow Masters.

"Lyn's father?" He-man asked, and Man-at-Arms's eyes widened. Teela stared open-mouthed. All of the Master were shocked. The Faceless One was Lyn's father? The day's events kept getting stranger.

"Well, that explains it." Man-at-Arms said thoughtfully. "You see, He-man, The Faceless One knows where Lyn is."

He-man sat bolt upright, ready for the news, ready to go and see his wife.

* * *

Lyn walked down the stairs of her father's home slowly. Since she had run away from the palace the previous day, she felt very tired doing even the simplest things- like walking downstairs. She didn't know if her warring emotions made her tired, or whether the pregnancy had finally caught up with her. For better or worse though, she missed her husband. She would not admit it, but she longed to speak to him and feel his touch on her skin once more.

Since leaving Snake Mountain a few hours ago, she was settled back at her father's home in the Zalesian desert, still unsure of her next move. Her father had given her little-to-no advice. He was not meddling for once, which surprised her. She had often complained in the past that he meddled too much in her affairs, but during this turbulent time- the one time when she actually could've used some advice- he had been remarkably and irritatingly silent.

She heard her father calling out to her then, so she straightened her silken, flowing, apple-green gown and wandered into the parlour where he sat reading. Helen was seated on the floor, engrossed in a child's jigsaw puzzle- one that Lyn recognised from her own youthful days in this house.

"How are you, daughter?" The Faceless One asked, gesturing for her to sit opposite him in a plush, blue chair. She sat, feeling grateful to be resting.

"I'm holding up alright." She remarked casually, although she could not look him in the face (or lack thereof).

He didn't believe her. It was obvious from his next words. "We need to talk, daughter."

She waited. She knew that the lack of interfering from him wasn't something that could last.

"Are you going to tell me to go back to my husband?" She wondered aloud. To her surprise, her father gave a soft chuckle.

"I cannot tell you to go back to your husband- no one can make you do that if you don't want to. But whether you go back to him or not, you should speak to him, be honest with him. He deserves that at least."

When Lyn said nothing for several moments, her father continued by asking her a surprising question. "Do you remember how your mother died?"

"Of course not- I was only a baby." She remarked quietly.

"You don't remember her actual death, but you know how she died. You know the story." He continued.

"She died as a result of complications from childbirth." Lyn replied, sounding almost bored.

"No, she didn't. That was just what we told people to avoid the scandal, but that wasn't how she really died. Surely, you remember the night you found out about it?"

Lyn closed her tired, violet eyes. Once again, that familiar memory bubbled up inside her. She began to see the beige walls. She started to push it back down.

"I don't want to remember!" She said, suddenly afraid.

"But you need to!" Her father pressed. "You have to come face to face with your demons to understand why you are the way you are."

Sighing, Lyn let the memory go, releasing her control over it. Suddenly, it came flooding back to her, and she remembered everything.

_She had been ten years old, and she'd snuck into one of the large, unused rooms in the house- a room with beige walls. It was past her bedtime by several hours, but her father thought she was asleep. She had pretended to be asleep when he'd checked on her, but the minute he'd gone, she'd snuck in here. This was where all her toys were kept!_

_She was reaching for a doll with brown glass eyes that was sitting on the shelf, when she heard the voices coming from outside the room. One was her father, the other was her aunt. Lyn crept to the door very quietly, wanting to hear what they were saying. The doll was still clutched in her hand. She had to be so silent- if she got caught out of bed this late, there would be trouble._

"_I'm just worried about Lyn." Her father was saying. "She asked me about her mother the other day, and I feel that she needs to know the truth about her death, but how can a little child understand such things."_

"_Her mother's drowning was an accident- she was walking through those unfamiliar gardens at night. It was dark, she didn't know where she was going. She tripped, fell in the lake and couldn't swim. Simple as that" Her Aunt Gweneth was replying in her matter-of-fact tone. "Besides, Lyn was only a baby when it happened, so she didn't really have a chance to get attached to her." _

_Lyn frowned at the door. Her father had always told her that her mother had died because of childbirth, but now her aunt was saying that her mother had drowned. Why would they lie about that? She got her answer then, but soon wished she hadn't._

"_Lyn could understand about the drowning." The Faceless One was saying. "But she won't understand why her mother was running through those public gardens late at night. How can I explain that her mother was running away- that she was leaving Lyn, leaving both of us? She'd packed her bags- she was never going to come back."_

_Lyn jerked away from the door as if her ear had been burnt. Her mother had been running away? Her mother had been running away from her father… …and away from her? The late mother she'd always revered and thought had truly loved her. Lyn wasn't even aware that she'd dropped the doll to the floor till she heard the sound of its glass eyes smashing. Then the door was opening and her father and aunt were running in to her as she fell to the floor. They weren't even angry with her, just sad that she had overheard and finally knew the truth. Her mother had walked out on her when she was only a tiny baby, and had died trying to flee._

Lyn narrowed her eyes at the painful memory, and glared at her father. "Why do I need to remember that? What does that have to do with my marriage- to do with anything?"

"It's part of the reason why you are the way you are. You can't accept that someone could love you, and it's been that way since you were ten- since you found out that your mother, who was supposed to love you more than anyone, ran off and left you."

Lyn bit down on her lip so hard that she drew blood. She wanted her father to stop talking, but he wouldn't. "Just because your mother had problems and was imperfect, it doesn't mean that she didn't love you in her own way. It doesn't mean you are unlovable. Plenty of people love you, daughter."

As if sensing the coming objection, The Faceless One continued. "I love you. Your daughter loves you. I believe He-man loves you- whether you accept it or not."

"I'm still not sure this is relevant-" Lyn tried to cut him off, but she was struggling now.

"Of course it is! You act hard and cold often… …and you're not willing to be open with those around you and say how you truly feel. It's because of your insecurities- you believe that you're unlovable because of what your mother did, so you keep your walls up."

This was a hard truth to take, but what followed next was even tougher for Lyn. Her father went on.

"The other point is- you don't want to be like your mother. Maybe she would've changed her mind, maybe she would've come back- who knows? She never got the chance though. You still have the chance to make things right, daughter."

When Lyn didn't reply, her father added, "You can't keep running away from your problems."

"I don't do that!" She shot back, offended.

"You ran away from home when you were a teenager." The Faceless One pointed out. "You joined the forces of evil, but when Skeletor upset you, you ran away from him and allied yourself with King Hiss. And when King Hiss upset you, you fled back to Skeletor. When you thought Skeletor might get rid of you, you ran away and married He-man… …and now you're having difficulty in your marriage, you've run away from your husband."

Lyn was staring at her father in abject horror. She'd always thought that she hid her personality, her insecurities, so well. But now they were being dragged up with alarming speed and clarity.

"You don't want to be vulnerable." Her father finally asserted. "You don't want to be the one who gets hurt, so you always make sure you leave before that happens. You never give things a chance, you just flee."

Lyn let the weight and pain of his words sink in, unable to speak in the face of this sudden, unexpected onslaught. The worst part was, she knew her father was right. He was right about everything. No-one made a fool of Lyn- she was always one step ahead. Always ready to run, and now she had done it again.

For years, her mother's behaviour had subconsciously affected her. Now, she realised that she was not so different from that confused woman who had fled when she was a tiny baby. She was a runner too. It was easier than waiting around for things to fail, waiting to get hurt or to hurt others.

Lyn looked at her father, confused and truly unsure of what her next move should be.

"What should I do?" She asked him quietly.

He repeated his advice from earlier. "You should talk to your husband."

She nodded, although she was unsure of what she would say to He-man. She rose from the chair.

"I will contact him." She said finally.

"Actually, I already contacted him." The Faceless One replied. "He's landing his vehicle outside as we speak."

Lyn stared at her father, eyes wide. She should've known that he wouldn't be able to resist the urge to meddle. The Faceless One nodded at his daughter.

"You're ready. It's time to go."

Steeling herself and squaring her shoulders, Lyn headed for the stairs, ready to meet her husband face-to-face, but what would she say when she saw him?


	18. Pieces Reformed

Lyn walked slowly up the stairs to the entrance of her father's home. She was ready to face her husband, although she still wasn't quite sure what to say. What if He-man was angry at her? Cold towards her? What if he shouted? What if he didn't want her anymore?

_If he doesn't want me, then he doesn't want me. _She thought simply. She was amazed at how strong she felt. She had accepted her past, and she was finally ready to face her future- no matter what the cost.

He-man landed his vehicle outside The Faceless One's home and looked at the giant ram's skull that was risen from the ground, allowing access to whoever might need it. Obviously, someone was expecting him. He-man wondered if he should call out before entering, or if he should simply run in and grab his wife, in case she should try to flee again. He pondered his next move for a few moments, but then all his questions were pushed to one side as Lyn herself emerged from the entrance of her childhood home.

She looked as beautiful as ever, dressed in a flowing, floor-length, light-green gown with long bell sleeves. The dress shimmered when she walked, and was so light that it seemed to be made of crepe paper. Her short, snow-white hair ruffled slightly in the breeze, and He-man was so relieved to see her, that he forgot any anger or questions for a moment.

He rushed forward, taking his wife in his arms and pulling her tightly against him. Then he was murmuring "Lyn? Lyn!" as he kissed her all over her face. He kissed her frantically, desperately- as if he were drowning and she was the air he needed to live. He couldn't help himself- he had come so close to losing her, after all. What would've happened if he'd lost her forever? It didn't bear thinking about!

He-man was unsure of how to read Lyn's emotions. She wasn't saying anything to him, but she was letting him kiss her and hold her in his strong arms. He was going to take full advantage of that. He leaned in and gave her a full, passionate kiss on the mouth. Finally, she responded to him, kissing him back in kind.

_She wants me! _He thought, flooded by welcome feelings of relief. _She still wants me. _

He broke the kiss then and gazed into her violet eyes. Then he kissed her again- this time it was slower, softer. When they finally broke apart, he held her against him, feeling her relax against his massive chest. She breathed in his wonderful, familiar, manly scent. It was good to be back. But now he had relaxed, now his worry was over, she braced herself for the questions that she knew had to come- the talk she knew they had to have.

"Lyn?" He-man was saying, sounding more sad than angry. "Why? Why?"

That was all he could manage for now, as he kissed the top of her head. He repeated that one word 'why' over and over again like a mantra.

"I know, I know." She soothed. "I made a mistake- I thought you didn't want me."

"Oh, Lyn! Lyn!" He-man's voice was cracking now, as if he were on the verge of tears. "How could you think I didn't want you?"

He buried his face in her short hair then, breathing in her full, flowery scent.

"I let my insecurities get the better of me." She admitted calmly, looking him right in the eyes. He-man stared at her. It was no like his wife to be so open- so honest! To admit to him that she had insecurities that plagued her.

He cupped her face in his hands then and looked at her. She looked different, he noted. It was as if something had changed in her these last couple of days. She seemed more open and honest, but also stronger and more confident. It was as if she were a dark room, and someone had finally pulled down all the heavy curtains and let the sunlight flood in, revealing every corner. It was as if she had finally thrown off all the secrets and shadows that she normally cloaked herself in. She seemed… ...free.

"I know about the baby." He added, pressing his hands to her stomach gently, finally being allowed to trace his fingers over the slight swell there and know what was contained within. Lyn gave a little sigh of pleasure at feeling his strong hands caress her so carefully.

"Who told you?" She asked.

"When you ran away, the Masters were all looking for you- they did an appeal for information and lots of people came forward." Lyn widened her eyes in surprise, and He-man continued. "But it was actually your friend, Christina, who told me you were four months gone."

"I wanted to tell you myself." Lyn admitted. "But I didn't, and I regret that now. I just kept putting it off."

He-man raised Lyn's chin to him and noticed her regretful expression. He kissed the tip of her nose gently, and then her forehead. He echoed the words that he'd spoken recently. "Lyn, you and I have both made mistakes in this marriage, but we can fix this. We can make it work."

She held out her hand to him and he took it.

"Let's start now." She suggested.

He thought they would go inside then, but to his surprise, she sat on the sandy ground and pulled him down next to her. They began to talk softly then.

She told him about her feelings towards the palace- the uncertainty, the isolation. She detailed how she'd felt when she'd run away, and filled in everything that had happened to her on her journey- her sorrowful visit to their beloved cottage, settling in her father's home, her trip to Snake Mountain (He-man was not impressed that she'd gone to see Skeletor in her current 'condition', but, underwhelmed as he was, he let her continue with her tale). She even told him of the talk with her father- re-discovering the true circumstances of her mother's death, and realising how it had affected her through her life. Finally, as she finished, He-man felt as though he had a clear view of his wife- for the first time in years. All the different sides of her had finally blended together.

He-man knew that it was time for _his _truth then.

"Lyn, there's something I need to tell you. A bit like your pregnancy, I know I should've told you before, but it never seemed like the right moment…"

She waited, but his next words shocked her. "I'm Prince Adam."

She stared at him for the longest moment, her expression quizzical.

"What do you mean?" She finally asked.

"I mean- Prince Adam and I are one and the same… …well, at least, we were one and the same."

Seeing that his wife couldn't understand him, He-man did his best to explain. "When I-Adam was sixteen, he found out that he had the ability to transform into He-man- the most powerful man in the universe, using his power sword."

Lyn couldn't quite believe it, although this _did _explain why He-man and Adam had never been seen in battle together. He continued.

"After I accidently killed Tri-Klops, I couldn't cope with the grief, so I knew sixteen-year-old Adam couldn't. I abdicated my throne, and I asked The Sorceress to transform me into He-man permanently, and she did… …that was when I came to Snake Mountain for atonement."

"So… …you're a prince?" Lyn was startled- this was so much to take in, yet on the deepest level, it _did _make sense. It was ironic that she and her fellow warriors, and even the Masters, had spent years thinking Adam a coward when in reality, he'd been the bravest of any of them.

"Well, yes and no. I was a prince, but Adam is gone for good and has been for four years." He replied.

"Maybe…" Lyn responded slowly, thoughtfully. Seeing her husband looking at her, she added, "Just because you can't transform into Adam physically, it doesn't mean that his essence has gone completely from you. In fact, once or twice in the past, I've thought that you rather remind me of him in your words or mannerisms… …of course, now I know why."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." He-man said, and Lyn smiled.

"It's probably for the best." She replied.

"Why do you say that?" Her husband asked, and she chuckled.

"If you were still Adam, you would've been far too young for me." She joked, and He-man found he was laughing too.

"Does this mean that King Randor and Queen Marlena are my in-laws?" She asked suddenly, and He-man nodded. This _was _amusing- the king and queen being the father-in-law and mother-in-law of one of their former enemies. She couldn't help but laugh at that. Now she understood why Queen Marlena was always trying to befriend her!

After their laughter had subsided, He-man said, "Lyn, I am sorry that I dragged you to the palace, and that I didn't put you first. If you want to go back to the cottage, I don't mind… …really."

He was looking at her in earnest. The truth was, she still wanted to go back to their cottage- that place where they had been so happy, and she sensed that they would go back there one day. But today was not that day. He-man was still needed on Eternia, and she was finally able to accept that he loved her. Because of that, it did not matter where they lived. The palace had never really been the issue- it had just brought things to the surface. Now that Lyn and her husband were a united front, it would be different.

"Let's go back to the palace for now." She said. He stood up and offered her his hand, and together, they walked into her father's home.

The Faceless One was overjoyed to see Lyn and He-man back together, and an excited Helen was throwing herself at He-man's legs and clinging on to him with shouts of "Daddy!"

He-man scooped the tiny child into his massive arms and kissed the top of her head, over the moon to see her again. He then sat down next to his wife, still relieved that he was able to put an arm around her. She was here- the nightmare was over.

After several cups of tea and earnest talks had been shared by the family, they bid farewell to Lyn's father, promising that they would visit again soon, and then He-man, Lyn and their daughter headed back to the palace.

The Masters were surprisingly pleased to see Lyn back and the family reunited. To Lyn's amazement, even Teela mumbled something that grudgingly sounded like "Good to have you back." The two of them would never be friends, but they did seem to have an 'understanding' of sorts now. Lyn calmly thanked them all for helping to find her- this was the start of a new era for them.

King Randor and Queen Marlena were beside themselves to know that their son's family was safe. Especially when Lyn told them that she knew the truth of who they were. They were thrilled (particularly Marlena) that they were finally able to act in role as Helen and the new babe's proper, recognised grandparents. The Queen made a show of scooping Helen up and kissing her and patting her head- she had waited too long for this moment.

Finally, He-man and Lyn were allowed to retire to their rooms. As Lyn slipped into bed beside her husband, he held on to her, still unwilling to let her go. He had come too close to that. As they drifted off to sleep, he had his final dream of Tri-Klops.

The tech was sitting in a nearby chair, watching him, and He-man sat bolt upright.

"Tri-Klops!"

"You think you'd be used to seeing me by now." The other man replied with a smirk.

He-man waited for a moment, and Tri-Klops waited too. For the first time, He-man felt that he had the upper-hand over this dream version of Tri-Klops. He didn't know if the tech were a dream, a vision, a memory… …or just a representation of the darkness and torment he'd felt, but he did know that he'd saved his marriage and done the right thing. He was no longer worried about what the tech might have to say. There was a silence.

"Aren't you going to ask me for advice?" Tri-Klops pondered. "Don't you want to question me about whether you've 'done the right thing'?"

"Not really." He-man answered. "It doesn't matter anymore. I choose Lyn, and that's that… …no matter what you or anyone else says."

"Well done- you've really come full circle. I suppose I managed to talk some sense into you." Tri-Klops was smiling at him in an eerie way. "I'll be going now, He-man, and you really won't see me again."

He-man blinked, and the tech vanished abruptly, leaving the chair empty. The hero didn't spent time deconstructing the dream on this occasion. Instead, he allowed himself to fall into a calm, peaceful sleep. He slept for many hours.

When He-man woke up the next morning, he was rested and smiling, his wife wrapped in his arms.

Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into months. As Lyn's belly grew, so did the level of acceptance of her at the palace. She would never be friends with the Masters, but they did become used to her daily presence in their lives, and were even supportive of her marriage to He-man.

He-man, in turn, continued to fight in battles. Now that his marriage was stable and secure, he felt more like his old, confident self again, and it showed in his fighting. His former enemies were no match for him, and he soon had most of the Snake Men and various other villains locked away in Eternia's dungeons. King Hiss and a few of his finest remained at large, but they were finally defeated in a triumphant battle one day, when Lyn was eight-and-a-half months pregnant.

The battle had raged on outside Grayskull for almost two hours. Even though the heroes had the upper hand, the remaining Snake Men had desperation on their side… …which made them unpredictable and dangerous. Lyn was at home in the palace, quietly reading a novel whilst her husband fought the vicious and savage King Hiss with every ounce of his strength.

Finally, the heroes got the upper hand when The Sorceress was able to open a portal to a barren, forsaken realm. With his remaining strength, He-man picked up the Snake Men leader and hurled him into the void, ridding Eternia of his evil ways.

As King Hiss was banished, He-man collapsed to the floor, victorious but desperately needing rest. At almost the exact same moment, in the Eternian palace, Lyn went into labour with her second child.

There was no chance for He-man to rest then, battle-weary though he was. As the heroes got the call through, telling them that Lyn was having her baby, they raced back to the palace. By now, Lyn had been moved to the hospital ward, and she was in the full throes of childbirth.

He-man went and sat beside his pained wife and held her hand. He was excited for the child, but he hated to see her suffering.

_We have both been through painful, weary battles today. _He thought. He opened his mouth to share this observation with her, then thought better of it. She would probably smack him round the head if he dared to compare her labour to his battle.

Finally, her moment came, and her second child was brought into the world. He-man and Lyn heard a squalling cry and saw people running back and forth with hot water and towels.

"It's a girl!" The midwife said excitedly, handing the swaddled bundle to Lyn.

_Another daughter._ Lyn thought with a little smile. It was nice for Helen to have a sister, although it did mean that poor He-man was going to be outnumbered at home by all the females.

Lyn and He-man looked down at their daughter. She was the opposite of Helen- who had her father's skin tone and hair, and her mother's eyes. This new baby had Lyn's snow-white hair and skin, but when she opened her round eyes, they were the same ocean-blue as He-man's.

They both took turns holding the new daughter. Then, He-man spoke. "You know, I defeated King Hiss and the remaining Snake Men today. I properly defeated them- they're gone for good."

Lyn wondered if he wanted praise. She was ready to get indignant- she _had _just had his baby, after all. _She_ should be the one to be praised! But she sensed that her husband was not telling her this for his own glorification, so she waited.

"Many of the threats of Eternia are no more, and King Hiss was a particularly big threat. With him gone, I feel that perhaps the time is right to go home- back to our cottage."

Lyn stared at him, open-mouthed. Could he really mean it? She didn't realise she'd spoken this statement out loud until he nodded.

"I don't mind staying if you really want to." She told him. This was not exactly true- she did mind, but she could live with it now. It was not the end of the world. "The palace is your home."

"The palace _was_ my home." He corrected her. "But when I married you, we agreed it was a fresh start for both of us. The cottage became our home- the place where we began our family. It's time to go back now. I'm not needed here as I once was. I want to go back to our home."

Hearing him say these words made her feel warm inside. She imagined the two of them back in their home, with their daughters. She leaned towards her husband. They kissed then, and the new daughter started to stir, and then wail loudly till Lyn rocked her back to sleep. He-man watched them fondly.

"She's beautiful." He said, gazing down admiringly at the baby.

"Well, if she keeps making that much noise, I may just leave her here when we go back to the cottage." Lyn chuckled.

He-man smirked at the joke and then asked, "What are we going to call her?"

Lyn smiled at him decidedly.

"Christina." She said.

_**Epilogue- 6 years later**_

Lyn scanned the horizon, waiting for the familiar figure to appear in the distance, backlit by the setting sun. She was sitting outside her cottage on a wooden bench that her husband had carved for their family. It was her husband whom she was waiting for- today was a special day. It was their anniversary- they had been married for ten years today.

The last decade had been kind to Lyn, and she was as fair as she'd been when she walked down the aisle. She still looked striking, with her short, white hair and snow-white skin and those violet eyes that now searched the horizon for the handsome figure of her husband. She was dressed in a sleek, sleeveless red gown that clung to her curves. It was a gown that her husband loved to see her in.

The witch's meditations were interrupted by a shriek of laughter, as her and He-man's two daughters came tearing round the corner of the cottage, chasing each other. Nine-year-old Helen and six-year-old Christina were best friends, although they looked as different as day and night.

At nine, Helen was still her father's daughter- a tall and athletic-looking girl with peach-coloured skin and long golden hair. The wise, violet eyes in her face were all Lyn's though. Christina had her mother's build and colouring- she was small and slender with long, white hair and skin that was just as pale. Those ocean-blue eyes of hers contained all the kindness that her father's had though.

Surprisingly, for the children of two powerful warriors, neither girl had evidenced any magic or special abilities of any kind, but Lyn didn't care. At one time, it would've mattered, but perhaps power only complicated things in the end? Her pursuit of it all those years ago had certainly not brought her joy, but only confusion.

As she pondered this, she saw the figure on the horizon, walking towards their home with a heavy, determined gait. It was He-man- he was home. With shrieks of 'Daddy!', both his little daughters ran to him, and he effortlessly swept them up into his strong arms, before setting them down again and heading over to his wife. She was resplendent in her red, silken gown.

He-man offered his wife his hand and pulled her from the bench to her feet, kissing her in greeting.

The girls quickly resumed their chasing game, running round and round the cottage. He-man then surveyed the place that had been his home for ten years- save for that brief time six or seven years ago, when they had lived in the Eternian Palace for a few months. As soon as Christina was born, they had moved back here. Eternia was safe- its biggest threats defeated. Now, people lived in peace. The Masters enjoyed many days off- some of them had even visited He-man and his family at their home. King Randor and Queen Marlena visited them frequently too.

This was a peaceful land now- the Snake Men were virtually vanished, and Skeletor rarely ever attacked. His witch, Calista, had left him three years ago, and he finally seemed on the verge of giving up.

It seemed so strange now to think that Lyn had once been Skeletor's warrior for such a large period of her life. Looking at her now, He-man saw no trace of the woman who'd once been his enemy.

"Happy Anniversary." He whispered, kissing her passionately on the lips.

"Happy Anniversary." She murmured when they broke apart. "I can't believe it's been ten years since we ran away from Snake Mountain together- an entire decade! Ah, well, may our next decade together be even richer."

"And the decade after that, and the decade after that." He said softly, giving her a tender kiss on the forehead. "And every decade after that."

As she led him and their daughters inside the cottage, He-man paused for a moment to reflect on the events of the last ten years. Like his wife, he had come full circle. He finally felt fully free of Tri-Klops's death.

There were still times when he'd wished it hadn't happened, but it had, and he accepted that and his part in it now. If it hadn't been for that fateful day, he never would've married Lyn and had their children. He-man now accepted that his life, like many others, was made up of good and bad events, and sometimes they intertwined. Tri-Klops's death had seemed like a terribly bad event, but it was also an important part of a very good one. It had shaped him into the person he was- the husband and father he was.

It had not been easy, and there had been no quick fix, but he had come to terms with it and its role in his life. It had broken him at first, shattered him into pieces. But his marriage to Lyn, the birth of his daughters, and his time reuniting with his fellow Masters had brought him hope. With each event, the pieces of the hero he'd been were slowly forged back together…. …and He-man was reformed.

Silently thanking those who had helped him on his long journey, He-man gazed at the glowing sun setting in the magnificent orange sky, and then he went inside to join his family. They were waiting for him.

The End

_Author's Note: I hope everyone enjoyed this story- it's been a long, long journey. I started writing it quite a few years ago. I always knew how I wanted to end it, but it took a long time for the pieces to fit together!_

_Anyway, thanks again for reading._

_Porcelain-Heart x_

_P:S- This story's finished now, and I'm not planning a sequel or anything. But if anyone's interested in a sneak peek at what I'm planning next, my newest upcoming He-man fic will be an Evil-Lyn/Tri-Klops romance. _

_It's going to be called 'The Dare'. It will be quite different to 'Pieces of a Hero'. I'm seeing it as only having about 5-7 chapters, and being quite light-hearted, not too serious. Here's a rough summary:_

_The Dare_

_The men of Snake Mountain are bored one night, so they decide to have a little fun. They dare straight-laced Tri-Klops to hit on the ice queen Evil-Lyn. When Tri-Klops does the deed, he expects Evil-Lyn to laugh in his face. He expects her to ignore him or threaten him. What Tri-Klops doesn't expect, is for Evil-Lyn to respond positively to his advances- but that is exactly what happens. _

_But there's hell to pay when Evil-Lyn finds out that it was all just a dare. Can Tri-Klops salvage their burgeoning relationship from the scrapheap? Or is the troubled tech going to suffer at the hands of the humiliated witch?_


End file.
